Preview Orange County Real Estate Blog - The Aaronson Group

Should You Buy a Home with Inflation This High?

While the federal reserve is working hard to bring down inflation, the latest data shows the inflation rate is still going up. You no doubt are feeling the pinch on your wallet at the gas pump or the grocery store, but that news may also leave you wondering: should I still buy a home right now? 

Greg McBride, chief financial analyst at Bankrate, explains how inflation is affecting the housing market: 

“Inflation will have a strong influence on where mortgage rates go in the months ahead. . . Whenever inflation finally starts to ease, so will mortgage rates — but even then, home prices are still subject to demand and very tight supply. 

No one knows how long it’ll take to bring down inflation, and that means the future…

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Housing Experts Say This Isn't a Bubble

With so much talk about an economic slowdown, some people are asking if the housing market is heading for a crash like the one in 2008. To really understand what’s happening with real estate today, it’s important to lean on the experts for reliable information. 

Here’s why economists and industry experts say the housing market is not a bubble ready to pop. 

Today is nothing like 2008 

The 2008 housing crash is still fresh in the minds of many homebuyers and sellers. But today’s market is different. Odeta Kushi, deputy chief economist at First American,says: 

“This is not the same market as 2008. . .. It’s no secret the housing market played a central role in the great recession, but this market is just…

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Expert Housing Market Forecasts for the Second Half of the Year

The housing market is at a turning point, and if you’re thinking of buying or selling a home, that may leave you wondering: is it still a good time to buy a home? Should I make a move this year? To help answer those questions, let’s turn to the experts for projections on what the second half of the year holds for residential real estate. 

Where mortgage rates will go depends on inflation 

While one of the big questions on all buyers’ minds is where will mortgage rates go in the months ahead, no one has a crystal ball to know exactly what’ll happen in the future. What housing market experts know for sure is that the record-low mortgage rates during the pandemic were an outlier, not the norm. 

This year, rates have…

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How Your Equity Can Grow Over Time

It’s true that record levels of home price appreciation have spurred significant equity gains for homeowners over the past few years. As Diana Olick, real estate correspondent at CNBC, says: 

“The stunning jump in home values over the course of the covid-19 pandemic has given U.S. Homeowners record amounts of housing wealth.” 

That’s great for your home’s value over the last couple of years, but what if you’ve lived in your home for longer than that? You may be wondering how much equity you truly have. 

The national association of realtors (NAR) has done a study to calculate the typical equity gains over longer spans of time. The data they compiled could be enough to motivate you to move. Just remember, to…

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A Key Opportunity for Homebuyers

There’s no denying the housing market has delivered a fair share of challenges to homebuyers over the past two years. Two of the biggest hurdles homebuyers faced during the pandemic were the limited number of homes for sale and the intensity and frequency of bidding wars. But those two things have reached a turning point. 

As you may have already heard, the number of homes for sale has increased this year, and even more so this spring. As Danielle Hale, chief economist for realtor.com, explains: 

“New listings–a measure of sellers putting homes up for sale–were up 6% above one year ago.…

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Here's Why This Housing Downturn is Nothing Like the Last One

As quickly as mortgage rates are rising, the once red-hot housing market is cooling off. Home prices are still historically high, but there is concern now that they will ease up as well. 

All of this has people asking: Is today’s housing market in the same predicament that it was over a decade ago, when the 2007-08 crash caused the Great Recession? 

The short answer is: no. America’s housing market is in far better health today. That’s thanks, in part, to new lending regulations that resulted from that meltdown. Those rules put today’s borrowers on far firmer footing. 

For the 53.5 million first lien home mortgages in America today, the average borrower FICO credit score is a record high 751. It was 699 in…

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Home Price Deceleration Does Not Mean Home Price Depreciation

Experts in the real estate industry use a number of terms when they talk about what’s happening with home prices. And some of those words sound a bit similar but mean very different things. To help clarify what’s happening with home prices and where experts say they’re going, here’s a look at a few terms you may hear: 

• Appreciation is when home prices increase. 

• Depreciation is when home prices decrease. 

• Deceleration is when home prices continue to appreciate, but at a slower pace. 

Where Home Prices Have Been in Recent Years 

For starters, you’ve probably heard home prices have skyrocketed over the past two years, but homes were actually appreciating long before that. You might…

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Luxury Homes are in High Demand!

As people realize their needs are changing, some are turning to luxury housing to find their dream home. Investopedia helps define what pushes a home into this category. In a recent article, they point out that a luxury home isn’t only defined by its price. Location is also an important factor. It could be a condo at a desirable city address, a spacious home on the water, or one with access to luxury activities like arts and entertainment, high-end shopping and dining, and more. The home itself will also boast some of the finest features available. 

According to the luxury market report from the institute for luxury home marketing, there’s been a substantial increase in how many buyers are purchasing luxury homes over the past two…

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More American Choose Real Estate as the Best Investment

Americans’ opinion on the value of real estate as an investment is climbing. That’s according to an annual survey from Gallup. Not only is real estate viewed as the best investment for the ninth year in a row, but more Americans selected it than ever before. 

The graph below shows the results of the survey since Gallup began asking the question in 2011. As the trend lines indicate, real estate has been gaining ground as the clear favorite for almost a decade now: 

If you’re thinking about purchasing a home, let this poll reassure you. Even when inflation is high like today, Americans recognize owning a home is a powerful financial decision. 

How An Investment In Real Estate Can Benefit You During High Inflation 

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Is the Housing Market Correcting?

If you’re following the news, all of the headlines about conditions in the current housing market may leave you with more questions than answers. Is the boom over? Is the market crashing or correcting? Here’s what you need to know. 

The housing market is moderating compared to the last two years, but what everyone needs to remember is that the past two years were record-breaking in nearly every way. Record-low mortgage rates and millennials reaching peak homebuying years led to an influx of buyer demand. At the same time, there weren’t enough homes available to purchase thanks to many years of underbuilding and sellers who held off on listing their homes due to the health crisis. 

This combination led to record-high demand and…

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