What to Do If You Are Moving in the Next 6 Months
Moving to a new home is exciting as you start planning what your new life will be like. There's a lot to do to ensure everything goes well, so getting organized with a clear plan is vital. Here's our guide on how to get started and what to do to make sure your move is a breeze. What to Do if You Are Selling a Home in the Next 6 Months Declutter Your Home One of the most important things to do if you are planning to move is to declutter and get rid of anything you no longer need. Clearing space not only helps you with packing and planning, but it makes your home look more spacious to people viewing it and more appealing. Be ruthless, and give items away, sell unwanted goods, send things to the thrift store, and clear any trash. Giving the home a thorough clean makes it more attractive to buyers. Hire a Real Estate Agent If you are planning to move, it's in your best interest to get a real estate agent to manage the sale. They can value your home, advise on the process, including any laws and regulations, and they can market your property. A real estate agent can also accompany potential buyers to your home. Pick the Date and Book the Moving Company If you can pick a date, this will give you a defined timeline to book a moving company and ensure you have booked a day off from work, for example. Reserving a date with the movers is vital because they get booked quickly, and you need all your dates to align. Redirect Mail and Pay Your Bills When you have a finalized date, and the sale is successful, start contacting your energy suppliers, phone company, internet provider, insurance company, and others to settle final bills and ensure they are paid. You also need to redirect your mail, so any correspondence is sent to your new address. Your employer and bank will also need to be notified about your change of address. Write a list so you can work through each one in turn. You must also work with your insurance company to make sure you have coverage during your move and while you own your property, as well as a transfer to a new home. What to Do if You Are Buying a Home in the Next 6 Months Work Out Your Budget & Get Preapproved One of the most critical steps in buying a home is to work out your budget to understand how much you can afford to spend on a home. You'll want to get preapproved for a mortgage so that you're able to make an offer when you find the one! Remember that interest rates on payments could rise in the next few years so allow for this and emergencies. A real estate agent can help with advice on budgeting. You also need to include money for the move itself, including moving services, company fees, lawyers, and the real estate agent. Consider What You Want from a Home When you start thinking about budgets, you should also work out what you want from your new home. Now more people look for things like more space, a garden, and dedicated office space in particular. You need to think about the neighborhood too and whether you want to be in the city or are looking for something more rural. Research Where You Want to Move Looking at neighborhoods and new towns where you plan to move is exciting. Check out the facilities, including schools and healthcare and crime rates. Work out commuter times, too, if you're going into an office. If you plan to buy a home, visit the area and walk around to get a feel for the area. Remember that that beautiful town you saw in summer may be a very different place in winter. Once you have an idea of places you want to live, you can draw up that shortlist of neighborhoods. Don't forget that local real estate agents also have a lot of insight into popular places and what would suit your requirements. Let's talk about your needs! Start Looking at Potential New Homes Once you have an idea of what you are looking for and a budget, it's time to start looking at potential homes. It's a great way to see what is available and what you do and don't want. For example, do you want a home you can move into immediately or one that requires a lot of renovation? If you are looking at a renovation project, you will need to think about the time you have to do things and the additional budget. We can alert you to any properties that may fit your needs when they hit the market. Once you find your dream home, you can make an offer and plan that move.
Top 6 Things You Need to Know Before Selling Your Home in 2022
The real estate market is busy right now. The pandemic has allowed people to rethink their lifestyles and look for more space. Technology has shown that many jobs can be done remotely, which opens up the potential for people to live further from their work. All these affect real estate sales, so if you are planning to sell your home in 2022, here's what you need to know. 1. Find a Good Real Estate Agent To Market Your Home A lot of property research is done online these days, so having a best-in-class real estate company to market your home is vital. They should take professional photos, deal with inquiries and manage the selling process for you. They should have access to marketing tools that will get your home seen by thousands of people. Real estate agents will also accompany viewers to your home, which gives you additional security and selling power. We offer best-in-class marketing to our sellers! See How We Do It 2. Prices Are Rising, But There's a Catch If you are selling your home, the good news is that real estate prices are rising, and there is demand for homes with more space, such as an office. The downside to this is that if you are buying a home, you may not be able to afford what you could five years ago as the price has increased significantly. That's why it's very important to think things through and budget beforehand so you can work out whether this is the right time to sell. 3. Be Prepared for a Fast Sale The demand for homes means that houses can sell faster than you think, so work with your agent to plan for what you will do if you do get a quick sale. You need to ensure all your documentation is up to date so it does not delay the selling process. Think through various scenarios such as putting your belongings into storage temporarily, renting a property while you research an area, or starting to look for your dream home. If you get a good offer, it would be a shame to decline it because you don't have a plan of where to go. 4. People Want Space The pandemic has seen people confined to their homes, leading to a craving for more space. An important thing to do if you are selling is to radically declutter your home so it looks spacious, and anyone viewing it can see the potential for living space. If necessary, put some belongings into temporary storage to make your home clutter-free. Trends on a home buyer's wish list include open plan living and an office area. You don't need to do all that to your house, of course, but let a buyer visualize the potential. They can't do that if the place is cluttered. 5. Clean Areas Are Vital COVID-19 also taught us the importance of keeping things clean. People looking at real estate today are looking for tidy homes with clean surfaces that can be wiped down easily. Give your home a deep clean after your declutter to look fresh and appealing. When your real estate agent markets your home, a clean space is more appealing to people. People are also looking to avoid extensive renovations right now, so making sure your property is up to date with maintenance and warranties is essential. You don't have to do a complete renovation if you are selling. Just tidying the place and keeping it clutter-free makes a big difference. 6. Millennials Are Buying Homes One of the trends affecting the real estate market is that Millennials are increasingly looking at buying homes. They do most of their research online and are not only looking for bigger and more up-market homes but want sustainability too. If you have solar panels or garden space where food can be grown, these trends appeal to millennials.
2022 Real Estate Predictions: What to Expect From the Market
When the COVID-19 outbreak took the world by storm in March 2020, there were many uncertainties. With all the chaos and unknowns, few could have predicted that the pandemic would ultimately spur one of the most competitive and tight housing markets in both U.S. and Canadian history. Between August 2020 and August 2021, home prices across the United States and Canada rose to record levels, with the U.S. housing market rising to a record of 19.9% and the Canadian housing market rising to a record 21.4%. While these prices have been a home seller's dream, it has also made buying a home much more difficult over the past year and a half. So, what can home sellers and home buyers expect to move in 2022? Will the market continue to rise, stay the same, or finally see a steady decline? Read on to discover more about all the predictions for the 2022 real estate market. Will the 2022 Real Estate Market Run Bullish or Bearish? When it comes to predicting markets, you will always have experts on both sides of the discussion. So while some experts are predicting a bullish outlook for the 2022 real estate market where home prices continue to rise, others are predicting a bearish outlook where home prices will start to trend down. Of course, with home prices hitting record levels of growth, even faster than that experienced in the run-up to the 2008 financial crisis, the current market will not be sustainable forever. However, the question is not if the market will trend down, but when. Will the real estate market come to a crashing halt in 2022, or will it slow gradually? Check out all the expert predictions regarding the 2022 real estate market below. Will Home Prices Rise, Fall, or Stay Steady in 2022? While there are many predictions regarding the 2022 real estate market, the general consensus is that the market will cool off in both the United States and Canada, but not by much. Fannie Mae predicts that the medium home prices will see a rise of around 7.9% between the fourth quarter of 2021 and the fourth quarter of 2022. While this would mark a fall in the current price growth of the market, it would still represent a strong growth by historical standards of the real estate market. Ultimately, Fannie Mae's predictions have the housing market returning to steady levels of price appreciation. In comparison to Fannie Mae's outlook on the 2022 real estate market, Zillow and Goldman Sachs are forecasting a much more bullish run while CoreLogic has put out a bearish prediction. Zillow has predicted home prices jumping 13.6% and Goldman Sachs even higher with a prediction of 16%. While Zillow and Goldman Sachs are seeing a world where home prices soar in 2022, the real estate data firm CoreLogic is predicting only a small 2.2% home price growth in the coming year. Ultimately, it looks like the 2022 real estate market will still strongly favor home sellers rather than home buyers. The supply of homes for sale is near record lows, and the gap between supply and demand is only widening. However, with the right real estate agent, finding a new home in 2022 is still certainly possible.
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