Reports for the last year have continued to show that the housing market is back, and the 2013 February Home Sales Report released today by the Wisconsin REALTORS® Association is no different. February marked the 20th straight month of double-digit growth in sales of existing homes. Sales were up 11.7% compared to February 2012 and [...]
Posts Tagged ‘Home Buying’
February 2013 Home Sales Reports Shows Double-Digit Growth for 20th Consecutive Month
Join Shorewest This Weekend for Our Open House Extravaganza
The housing recovery spike in the last quarter of 2012 has carried over into 2013, and there’s no better time to invest for the future than by becoming a homeowner. With the strong growth in home sales and still-affordable fixed-rate mortgages, the housing market recovery has made owning a home easier than ever. To help [...]
2012: Another Year with Shorewest on Top
Shorewest, REALTORS® spent another year on top of the southeastern Wisconsin markets, producing the most sold homes and the highest amount of listings. In both cases, we did more business than the next three competitors combined! Shorewest sold 10,107 houses in 2012, up 27% over 2011. Shorewest listed 8,151 homes, over 5,000 more homes than [...]
Inventory Levels at Historic Lows
One of the biggest challenges facing the housing market today is the lack of homes for sale. This is such a reverse from the last few years, where inventory, especially in distressed foreclosure or short sale properties, had flooded the market and caused prices to drop dramatically. The above chart shows the national inventory levels, [...]
The Digital House Hunt: Turn to Shorewest.com
Google and the National Association of REALTORS (NAR) recently released a joint study — The Digital House Hunt: Consumer and Market Trends in Real Estate. Some really important data was released about how house hunters looked for homes during 2012. Some interesting statistics include: 90% of home buyers searched online throughout their home buying process. [...]
The Worst Things to Forget Before a Major Move: Part II
Last week, we showed you Part I of our “Worst Things to Forget Before a Major Move” series. This week, we’re back with the next five tips for the weeks leading up to your big move. Your utilities. The American Moving & Storage Association recommends turning off utilities two to three days after you move [...]
Housing Market Rebound — Current Average Home Prices Now Match 2003
New information from the S&P/Case-Shiller national home price index shows the average prices of homes in July 2012 rebounded to the same levels as July 2003. The typical home price has risen by 5.9% for 2012 to date. It marks the third straight month that prices in all 20 major markets have improved, and we [...]
What You Need to Know for the Final Walk-through
You’ve found your next home, and you are eager to close on it and start the moving process. Before everything is finalized, however, the next step is a final walk-through, at least a week before your closing date. These are done to ensure the property’s condition hasn’t changed since you last saw it and that [...]
Guidelines for Future Homeowners
Many condos, townhouses and subdivisions are governed by a homeowners association (HOA). These associations help maintain shared communities, including maintenance on the common areas, as well as helping to enforce regulations that come with the property. Read. Before completing an offer to purchase, read through and understand all of the governing documents. There may be [...]
5 Great Benefits of Homeownership
For many people in the United States, owning a home is still a quintessential part of the American Dream. Taking the jump into homeownership can be an intimidating process, especially for first-time buyers. Despite this, more than 2.5 million people became first-time homeowners in 2010, even in the recession facing America. The number of homeowners [...]