Realty Executives Midwest
The median sales price in MRED's residential marketplace increased 2% week-over-week to kick off the month of April. That jump to $295,000 didn't reach 2022's total of $300,000 during the same span, but it marked the largest single-week total since August of last year.
If you’re thinking about selling this spring, it’s time to get moving – the best week to list your house is fast approaching.
Experts at realtor.com looked at seasonal trends from recent years (excluding 2020 as an uncharacteristic year due to the onset of the pandemic) and determined the ideal week to list a house this year:
“Home sellers on the fence waiting for that perfect moment to sell should start preparations, because the best time to list a home in 2023 is approaching quickly. The week of April 16-22 is expected to have the ideal balance of housing market conditions that favor home sellers, more so than any other week in the year.”
If you’ve been waiting for the best time to sell, this is your chance. But remember, before you put your house on the market, you’ve got to get it ready. And if you haven’t started that process yet, you’ll need to move quickly. Here’s what you should keep in mind.
Start by prioritizing which updates you’ll make. In February, realtor.com asked more than 1,200 recent or potential home sellers what updates they ended up making to their house before listing it (see graph below):
As you can see, the most common answers included landscaping and painting. Work with a trusted real estate agent to determine what projects make the most sense for your goals and local market.
Once you’ve made any necessary repairs and updates to your house, consider having it staged. According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), 82% of buyers’ agents said staging a home made it easier for a buyer to visualize the property as a future home. Additionally, almost half of buyers’ agents said home staging had an effect on most buyers’ view of the home in general. Homes that are staged typically sell faster and for a higher price because they help potential buyers more easily picture their new life in the house.
Are you ready to sell this spring? Contact a real estate agent to plan your next steps. You can start by making a checklist of what you think your house needs to get ready. Then, we can work together to prioritize your list and move forward together.
If you’re thinking about buying a home, you want to know the decision will be a good one. And for many, that means thinking about what home prices are projected to do in the coming years and how that could impact your investment.
This year, we aren’t seeing home prices fall dramatically. As the year goes on, however, some markets may go up in value while others may lose value. That’s why it’s helpful to keep the long-term view in mind. Experts project a return to a steadier rate of price appreciation in the years that follow.
Over 100 economists, investment strategists, and housing market analysts were polled by Pulsenomics in their latest quarterly Home Price Expectation Survey (HPES). The report indicates what they believe will happen with home prices over the next five years. As the graph below shows, after mild depreciation this year, these experts forecast home prices will return to more normal levels of appreciation through 2027.
The big takeaway is experts aren’t forecasting a drastic fall in home prices nationally, even though some markets will see home price appreciation while others may depreciate. And when they look further out, they see steady price appreciation in the long run. That’s a great example of why homeownership wins over time.
Once you buy a home, price appreciation raises your home’s value, and that grows your household wealth. Here’s how a typical home’s value could change over the next few years using the expert price appreciation projections from the survey mentioned above (see graph below):
In this example, if you bought a $400,000 home at the beginning of this year and factor in the forecast from the HPES, you could accumulate over $54,000 in household wealth over the next five years. So, if you’re wondering if buying a home is a sound decision, keep in mind what a strong wealth-building tool it is long term.
According to the experts, while we may see slight depreciation this year, home prices are expected to grow over the next five years. If you’re ready to become a homeowner, know that buying today can set you up for long-term success as home values (and your own net worth) are projected to grow. Partner with a local real estate agent to begin the homebuying process today.
Source: Keeping Current Matters
Realty Executives Midwest
1310 Plainfield Rd. Ste 2 | Darien, IL 60561
Office: 630-969-8880
E-Mail: experts@realtyexecutives.com
Unless you live in a Hollywood Hills mansion, you probably don't have space to store years of tax and insurance paperwork, warranties, and repair receipts related to your home.
But you need that paperwork if you need to prove you deserve the tax deductions you took, to file an insurance claim, or to figure out if your busted oven is still under warranty.
To help you organize your piles of papers, we've created a handy checklist of how long to keep tax records.
First, a little background on IRS rules, which informed some of our charts:
| HOME SALE RECORDS | |
| Document | How Long to Keep It |
| Home sale closing documents, including closing statement | As long as you own the property + 3 years |
|
Deed to the house |
As long as you own the property |
| Builder's warranty or service contract for new home | Until the warranty period ends |
| Community/condo association covenants, codes, restrictions (CC&Rs) | As long as you own the property |
| Receipts for capital improvements | As long as you own the property + 3 years |
| Mortgage payoff statements (certificate of satisfaction or lien release) | Forever, just in case a lender says, "Hey, you still owe us money." |
Why you need these docs: You use home sale closing documents and receipts for capital improvements records to calculate and document your profit (gain) when you sell your home.
Your deed and mortgage payoff statements prove you own your home and have paid off your mortgage, respectively.
Your builder’s warranty or contract is important if you file a claim. And sooner or later you’ll need to check the CC&R rules in your condo or community association.
| ANNUAL TAX DEDUCTIONS* | |
| Document | How Long to Keep It |
| Property tax payment (tax bill + canceled check or bank statement showing check was cashed) | 3 years after the due date of the return showing the deduction |
| Year-end mortgage statements | 3 years after the due date of the return showing the deduction |
| Tax returns | 3 years from the date you file your return or 2 years from the date you paid the tax, whichever is later |
Why you need these docs: To document you’re eligible for a deduction or tax credit in case you're audited by the IRS.
*These deductions are relevant if you itemize. The standard deduction has been increased, which means fewer people will itemize than have in the past.
| INSURANCE AND WARRANTIES | |
| Document | How Long to Keep It |
| Home repair receipts | Until warranty expires |
| Inventory of household possessions | Forever (Remember to make updates.) |
| Homeowners insurance policies | Until you receive the next year's policy |
| Service contracts and warranties | As long as you have the item being warrantied |
Why you need these docs: To file a claim or see what your policy or warranty covers.
| INVESTMENT (LANDLORD) REAL ESTATE DEDUCTIONS | |
| Document | How Long to Keep It |
| Appraisal or valuation used to calculate depreciation | As long as you own the property + 3 years |
| Receipts for capital expenses, such as an addition or improvements | As long as you own the property + 3 years |
| Receipts for repairs and other expenses | 3 years after the due date of the return showing the deduction |
| Landlord's insurance payment receipt (canceled check or bank statement showing check was cashed) | 3 years after the due date showing the deduction |
| Landlord's insurance policy | Until you receive the next year's policy |
| Partnership or LLC agreements for real estate investments | As long as the partnership or LLC exists |
| Section 1031 (like-kind exchange) sale records for both your old and new properties, including HUD-1 settlement sheet | As long as you own the new property + 3 years |
Why you need these docs: For the most part, to prove your eligibility to deduct the expense. You’ll also need receipts for capital expenditures to calculate your profit (gain) or loss when you sell the property. Landlord’s insurance and partnership agreements are important references.
| MISCELLANEOUS RECORDS | |
| Document | How Long to Keep It |
| Wills and property trusts | Until updated |
| Date-of-death home value record for inherited home, and any rules for heirs' use of home | As long as you or spouse owns the home + 3 years |
| Original owners' purchase documents (sales contract, deed) for home given to you as a gift | As long as you or spouse owns the home + 3 years |
| Divorce decree with home sale clause | As long as you or spouse owns the home + 3 years |
| Employment records for live-in help (W-2s, W-4s, pay and benefits statements) | 4 years after you make (or owe) payroll tax payments |
Why you need these docs: Most are needed to calculate capital gains when you sell. Employment records help prove deductions.
Because paper, such as receipts, fades with time and takes up space, consider scanning and storing your documents on a flash drive, an external hard drive, or a cloud-based remote server. Even better, save your documents to at least two of these places.
Or, you can consider an app such as Smart Receipts, which is available via Google Play and Mac App Store. Smart Receipts lets you track your finances, including receipts, for yourself or your employer. You can choose from default data types including dates, price, tax, receipt categories, comments, and payment methods.
Digital copies are OK with the IRS as long as they’re identical to the originals and contain all the accurate information that was in the original receipts. You must be able to produce a hard copy if the IRS asks for one.
Tip: Tax season and year’s end are good times to purge files and toss what you no longer need; that's often when the spirit of organization moves us.
When you do finally toss out your home-related paperwork, use a shredder. Throwing away intact documents with personal financial information could put you at risk for identity theft.
Source: Houselogic
Realty Executives Midwest
1310 Plainfield Rd. Ste 2 | Darien, IL 60561
Office: 630-969-8880
E-Mail: experts@realtyexecutives.com
A lot of practical yet stressful work needs to be done when buying a home- such as paperwork, dealing with banks, getting a mortgage approval, etc. As a result, it is easy to forget that home buying is also a significant emotional labor. There can be fear and doubt, which is expected because buying is a significant financial decision. It is also exciting and symbolic of a new beginning in someone’s life. This is especially true for people who are buying their first home.
Don’t let nerves stop you from fulfilling your goal of buying your dream home! Read on for soothing tips for anxious first-time home buyers.
Here are a few simple yet calming tips:
Anxiety makes us overthink and imagine possible scenarios, often the worst-case ones. That can be really frightening and emotionally draining for a person. In this case, the solution is letting go. No one can tell you precisely what will happen with 100% certainty, not even the most experienced real estate agent. It’s simply impossible. The real estate market is constantly changing, and you can’t always keep up. But instead of looking at that as a problem, try to maintain a relaxed attitude. It can be freeing to stop trying to figure out every detail that is going to happen. The best thing you can do is ensure you have done everything in your control. You have taken the steps for mortgage pre-approval, hired a real estate agent, and know what you want. Rely on the real estate and mortgage experts to help facilitate the buying process.
Our anxiety can make us feel like we are doing everything wrong. In some severe cases, home buyer anxiety can be so bad that it turns people away from purchasing. But this does not need to happen to you; there is a way to combat it. The way to do this is through logic, but it can sometimes be hard to calm emotions and turn on the rational part of our brain. In this situation, it is helpful to write it down. Take a piece of paper and write why buying a home is excellent and suitable for you. Things like:
These affirmations are necessary because they are true, and your anxiety makes it hard for you to see them that way.
Anxiety is often directly tied to self-doubt. That is often the case when people buying their first home are very young. They get overwhelmed by the fact that home buying is a huge financial undertaking and don’t believe they know what they are doing. Overcoming self-doubt is hard, but don’t let it consume you. If you don’t trust yourself, you should seek support from your friends and family. They will tell you why this is good for you and why you should do it. Your support group will calm your anxiety and make you see more realistically. Sometimes you need to hear it from someone else to believe it’s true. That is a prevalent feeling amongst first time home buyers, and many shared that the support of their families and friends helped them through it.
If you are feeling anxious and confused about this process, a good course of action is getting a professional to guide you. That is one of the best tips for anxious first-time home buyers. The home buying process for first timers is much easier if they have an experienced real estate agent. Real estate agents will explain all the essential details to you and answer any questions. A good real estate agent is a skilled negotiator, knows the local real estate market, and is excellent at communicating with clients. The key is to be clear when communicating with your real estate agent. Tell them everything you are worried about and what you are looking for in your new home. Having some experience to guide you through this is helpful for calming anxiety.
Anxiety can also stem from the fact that you have been trying to find the perfect home but still haven’t succeeded. This is normal- just ask other people who have purchased real estate! You may not find the perfect property in the first days and weeks of your search. Some people have waited for months, depending on inventory and market conditions. Do not let your eagerness push you into settling for a property that does not match your needs. Buying a new home is a considerable investment that will last a long time, sometimes a lifetime. It is worth patience and waiting until you find the right home for you and your family.
Home buying anxiety is extremely common, and you are not alone in this feeling. It is completely normal to be a little spooked when doing something as big and important as this. After all, many people only buy a house once or twice in a lifetime. Needing help is understandable for both the technical tasks and the emotional journey you are going through. Hopefully, these tips for anxious first-time home buyers were helpful to you. Just remember to be patient! You deserve to get the home of your dreams. Good luck!
Realty Executives agents are real estate experts. They have the education and expertise you need to navigate through the process of buying or selling a home. From listing at the right price to making the best offer, our Executives have witnessed the best - and most regrettable - decisions homeowners and homebuyers can make. Every day, they are immersed in every aspect of real estate that includes comparable home price analysis, property surveys, credit reports, open houses, HOA agreements, lenders, title companies, homeowners’ insurance, walk-throughs, terms of sale or purchase, repairs, concessions and closing documents. Let our accomplished Executives help navigate you through the process of buying or selling a home.
