Every real estate market creates its own buyer and seller personas, or profiles. When the market is slow and prices are low, it brings out 'the wheeler-dealer' and 'the lowballer,' as well as the 'paralyzed panicker' in some buyers. But sellers aren’t immune. And in a warm or hot market climate, the rise in home prices makes some sellers wonder whether they should exercise the freedom of finally having some home equity and make a move, or if it's a better idea to stay put in hopes they can sell for more, next … [Read more...]
Archives for October 2013
Metro Phoenix housing: Homebuyer revival transforms market
October 24, 2013 by Leave a Comment
In a good sign of the times, real-estate agents are predicting a proliferation of for-sale signs on front lawns. The metro Phoenix housing market is shifting away from investors for the first time since the market crash, leaving more properties available for traditional buyers. And the market appears neither overstressed nor overheated, heading instead toward a more natural balance. Thousands of prospective sellers, once worried about losing money on their houses, have listed their properties after seeing … [Read more...]
What to Ask Before Choosing a Hardwood Floor
October 24, 2013 by Leave a Comment
So you’ve decided to get hardwood floors. Easy enough, right? Pick a wood and be done with it. Not so fast. There are a lot of factors that will determine what kind of hardwood floor your home can accommodate, and what will look best with your existing or planned furnishings and decor. You have some basic options: solid wood and engineered wood. Solid wood is what you generally think of as a hardwood floor: thick, solid planks of wood. Engineered wood is made of a veneer layer that sits atop a core of … [Read more...]
U.S. mortgage applications dip, but purchase demand edges up
October 24, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Applications for U.S. home loans dropped slightly in the latest week as decreased refinancing activity offset a slight rise in demand for purchase loans, data from an industry group showed on Wednesday. The Mortgage Bankers Association said its seasonally adjusted index of mortgage application activity, which includes both refinancing and home purchase demand, fell 0.6 percent in the week ended Oct. 18. That followed a gain of 0.3 percent in the previous week. The figures came against the backdrop of a U.S. … [Read more...]
