FEB 2015 HOME SALES REPORT FROM CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS

February home sales and price report

For release:
March 16, 2015 from C.A.R. (California Association of Realtors®)

California housing market bounces back in February after slow start to year

LOS ANGELES (March 16) – Slowing home price appreciation and improving inventory combined to boost California’s housing market in February as existing home sales and median home prices increased from both the previous month and year, the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (C.A.R.) said today.
 
Closed escrow sales of existing, single-family detached homes in California totaled a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 368,160 units in February, according to information collected by C.A.R. from more than 90 local REALTOR® associations and MLSs statewide.  Sales in February were up 4.7 percent from a revised 351,480 in January and up 2.4 percent from a revised 359,600 in February 2014.  The year-over-year increase was the largest observed since December 2012. The statewide sales figure represents what would be the total number of homes sold during 2015 if sales maintained the February pace throughout the year.  It is adjusted to account for seasonal factors that typically influence home sales.

“While February’s statewide improvement in the housing market was moderate, it’s an encouraging sign, nevertheless, as we head into the spring home-buying season,” said C.A.R. President Chris Kutzkey.  “On the supply side, housing inventory improved overall with active listings growing at a faster pace of 5.3 percent when compared to last February.  Regionally, both active listings in Southern California and Central Valley increased moderately from last year, while housing supply declined 10 percent in the Bay Area.”
 
The median price of an existing, single-family detached California home was essentially flat from January’s median price, inching up from $426,660 in January to $428,970 in February. February’s median price was 5.5 percent higher than the revised $406,460 recorded in February 2014.  While the statewide median home price is higher than a year ago, the rate of increase has narrowed significantly since early 2014. The median sales price is the point at which half of homes sold for more and half sold for less; it is influenced by the types of homes selling as well as a general change in values.
“The California housing market regained some traction in February as sales activity improved on a year-over-year basis for the second time in three months,” said C.A.R. Vice President and Chief Economist Leslie Appleton-Young.  “At the state level, the market is moving in the right direction as the growth of sales continues its upward trend and home prices start stabilizing.  At the regional level, however, the San Francisco Bay Area continued to be hampered by constrained inventory and low housing affordability.”
Other key facts from C.A.R.’s February 2015 resale housing report include:
• The available supply of existing, single-family detached homes for sale statewide in February was unchanged from the 5 months reported in January. The index was 4.7 months in February 2014.  The index indicates the number of months needed to sell the supply of homes on the market at the current sales rate.  A six- to seven-month supply is considered typical in a normal market.
• The median number of days it took to sell a single-family home shortened in February, down from a 52.4 days in January to 47 days in February but up from 40.1 days in February 2014.
• According to C.A.R.’s newest housing market indicator measuring sales-to-list price ratio*, properties are again generally selling below the list price, except in the San Francisco Bay Area, where a lack of homes for sale is keeping sales prices in line with original asking prices.  The statewide measure suggests that homes are selling at a median of 97.7 percent of the list price, down slightly from a ratio of 98.2 percent at the same time last year. The Bay Area is the only region where homes are selling above original list prices due to constrained supply with a ratio of 104.2 percent.

• The average California price per square foot** for an existing single-family home was $210 in February 2015, an increase of 2.5 percent from the previous month and a 4.1 percent increase from February 2014.  Price per square foot at the state level has been showing an upward trend since early 2012, and has been rising on a year-over-year basis for 37 consecutive months.  In recent months, however, the growth rate in price per square foot has slowed down significantly as home prices leveled off.  San Francisco County had the highest price per square foot in February at $754/sq. ft., followed by San Mateo ($689/sq. ft.), and Santa Clara ($552/sq. ft.).  The three counties with the lowest price per square foot in February were Siskiyou ($102/sq. ft.), Tehama ($107/sq. ft.), and Madera ($110/sq. ft.).
• Mortgage rates edged up in February, with the 30-year, fixed-mortgage interest rate averaging 3.71 percent, up from 3.67 percent in January but down from 4.3 percent in February 2014, according to Freddie Mac.  Adjustable-mortgage interest rates also rose in February, averaging 2.43 percent, up from 2.38 percent in January but down from 2.54 percent in February 2014.

Note:  The County MLS median price and sales data in the tables are generated from a survey of more than 90 associations of REALTORS® throughout the state, and represent statistics of existing single-family detached homes only.  County sales data are not adjusted to account for seasonal factors that can influence home sales.  Movements in sales prices should not be interpreted as changes in the cost of a standard home.  The median price is where half sold for more and half sold for less; medians are more typical than average prices, which are skewed by a relatively small share of transactions at either the lower-end or the upper-end. Median prices can be influenced by changes in cost, as well as changes in the characteristics and the size of homes sold.  Due to the low sales volume in some areas, median price changes in February exhibit unusual fluctuation. The change in median prices should not be construed as actual price changes in specific homes.

*Sales-to-list price ratio is an indicator that reflects the negotiation power of home buyers and home sellers under current market conditions.  The ratio is calculated by dividing the final sales price of a property by its last list price and is expressed as a percentage.  A sales-to-list ratio with 100 percent or above suggests that the property sold for more than the list price, and a ratio below 100 percent indicates that the price sold below the asking price.   

**Price per square foot is a measure commonly used by real estate agents and brokers to determine how much a square foot of space a buyer will pay for a property.  It is calculated as the sale price of the home divided by the number of finished square feet.  C.A.R. currently tracks price-per-square foot statistics for 33 counties.  

Leading the way…® in California real estate for more than 100 years, the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (www.car.org) is one of the largest state trade organizations in the United States with 175,000 members dedicated to the advancement of professionalism in real estate. C.A.R. is headquartered in Los Angeles.

# # #

February 2015 County Sales and Price Activity(Regional and condo sales data not seasonally adjusted)

February-15	Median Sold Price of Existing Single-Family Homes							Sales
State/Region/County	Feb-15	Jan-15		Feb-14		MTM% Chg	YTY% Chg	MTM% Chg	YTY% Chg
CA SFH (SAAR)	$428,970	$426,660	r	$406,460	r	0.5%	5.5%	4.7%	2.4%
CA Condo/Townhomes	$367,180	$352,590	r	$345,250	r	4.1%	6.4%	3.7%	-7.4%
Los Angeles Metropolitan Area	$409,810	$395,200		$383,080		3.7%	7.0%	1.3%	-1.9%
Inland Empire	$282,400	$267,070		$260,360	r	5.7%	8.5%	-0.6%	-5.2%
S.F. Bay Area	$740,270	$668,520	r	$673,410	r	10.7%	9.9%	11.6%	-4.5%
S.F. Bay Area
Alameda	$697,160	$640,330		$627,550		8.9%	11.1%	2.1%	-8.6%
Contra-Costa (Central County)	$738,090	$723,960		$629,570		2.0%	17.2%	7.4%	-13.4%
Marin	$1,023,440	$982,140		$983,690	r	4.2%	4.0%	25.9%	-8.5%
Napa	$544,120	$400,000		$466,670		36.0%	16.6%	6.1%	6.1%
San Francisco	$1,154,760	$986,610	r	$1,062,500	r	17.0%	8.7%	28.4%	-22.3%
San Mateo	$1,200,000	$1,012,500		$970,000	r	18.5%	23.7%	23.3%	-3.2%
Santa Clara	$915,130	$815,000		$805,000	r	12.3%	13.7%	13.0%	0.9%
Solano	$337,500	$326,510		$288,300		3.4%	17.1%	8.3%	17.7%
Sonoma	$489,330	$468,180		$467,860		4.5%	4.6%	8.9%	-10.1%
Southern California
Los Angeles	$419,260	$441,610		$389,080		-5.1%	7.8%	-0.3%	-3.2%
Orange County	$680,290	$674,340		$677,700		0.9%	0.4%	10.9%	6.3%
Riverside County	$323,220	$306,060		$302,370		5.6%	6.9%	4.3%	-7.7%
San Bernardino	$213,930	$206,660		$186,440	r	3.5%	14.7%	-7.8%	-0.6%
San Diego	$499,000	$496,380		$476,780		0.5%	4.7%	14.8%	5.7%
Ventura	$568,840	$582,630		$558,490		-2.4%	1.9%	-1.7%	6.4%
Central Coast
Monterey	$500,000	$420,000		$500,000		19.0%	0.0%	-7.7%	6.2%
San Luis Obispo	$491,670	$478,720		$480,680		2.7%	2.3%	-5.2%	6.4%
Santa Barbara	$556,820	$690,220		$661,760		-19.3%	-15.9%	5.7%	12.1%
Santa Cruz	$675,000	$665,000		$600,000		1.5%	12.5%	15.8%	0.9%
Central Valley
Fresno	$210,320	$211,470		$182,270		-0.5%	15.4%	10.0%	5.8%
Glenn	$220,000	$162,500		$200,000		35.4%	10.0%	-33.3%	75.0%
Kern (Bakersfield)	$215,000	$195,000	r	$195,000		10.3%	10.3%	-6.9%	-10.2%
Kings County	$196,000	$172,500		$182,500		13.6%	7.4%	4.5%	-19.3%
Madera	$217,500	$245,000		$172,860	r	-11.2%	25.8%	-21.6%	-43.1%
Merced	$168,750	$168,750		$181,670		0.0%	-7.1%	31.7%	10.7%
Placer County	$375,380	$375,980		$370,090		-0.2%	1.4%	16.6%	9.1%
Sacramento	$283,960	$256,670		$260,330		10.6%	9.1%	19.6%	11.5%
San Benito	$450,000	$435,000		$399,000		3.4%	12.8%	22.9%	10.3%
San Joaquin	$270,750	$263,360		$234,930		2.8%	15.2%	7.4%	-1.8%
Stanislaus	$237,680	$230,790		$215,380		3.0%	10.4%	-4.0%	-2.5%
Tulare	$172,140	$173,330		$163,330		-0.7%	5.4%	23.4%	15.9%
Other Counties in California
Amador	$271,430	$210,710		$206,250		28.8%	31.6%	30.4%	-18.9%
Butte County	$247,320	$231,730		$217,650	r	6.7%	13.6%	10.8%	33.7%
Calaveras	$232,500	$223,000		$225,500		4.3%	3.1%	1.8%	-5.1%
Del Norte	$189,000	$152,260		$220,000		24.1%	-14.1%	-33.3%	71.4%
El Dorado County	$384,880	$375,000		$332,050		2.6%	15.9%	19.1%	16.1%
Humboldt	$250,000	$263,890		$218,750		-5.3%	14.3%	31.3%	55.6%
Lake County	$184,290	$163,330		$170,000		12.8%	8.4%	-6.3%	-18.2%
Mariposa	$250,000	$268,750		$225,000		-7.0%	11.1%	-11.1%	-33.3%
Mendocino	$309,090	$258,330		$272,220		19.6%	13.5%	17.2%	6.3%
Nevada	$334,000	$340,000		$305,000		-1.8%	9.5%	-13.7%	16.7%
Plumas	$192,500	$276,000		$118,000		-30.3%	63.1%	100.0%	81.8%
Shasta	$225,860	$216,130		$186,000		4.5%	21.4%	-2.9%	-3.6%
Siskiyou County	$148,330	$195,000		$130,000		-23.9%	14.1%	-16.0%	16.7%
Sutter	$213,330	$227,080		$188,000		-6.1%	13.5%	9.4%	7.4%
Tehama	$150,000	$162,860		$237,500		-7.9%	-36.8%	-36.7%	26.7%
Tuolumne	$195,000	$236,360		$222,730		-17.5%	-12.5%	0.0%	0.0%
Yolo	$372,860	$307,500		$333,330		21.3%	11.9%	39.4%	17.9%
Yuba	$215,220	$204,170		$200,000	r	5.4%	7.6%	27.3%	55.6%

r = revised

February 2015 County Unsold Inventory and Time on Market
(Regional and condo sales data not seasonally adjusted)

February-15	Unsold Inventory Index					Median Time on Market
State/Region/County	Feb-15	Jan-15		Feb-14		Feb-15	Jan-15		Feb-14
CA SFH (SAAR)	5.0	5.0		4.7		47.0	52.4		40.1
CA Condo/Townhomes	4.3	4.3		3.9		43.2	52.4	r	40.0	r
Los Angeles Metropolitan Area	5.8	5.5		5.0		58.7	63.0		48.0
Inland Empire	6.7	6.4		5.4	r	67.6	67.5		48.0
S.F. Bay Area	3.2	3.1		3.3	r	37.7	48.6		36.4	r
S.F. Bay Area
Alameda	2.8	2.6		3.1		48.8	56.1		48.7
Contra-Costa (Central County)	3.3	2.8		3.0		53.3	68.1		49.2
Marin	3.9	4.0		4.1		39.4	51.9		29.8
Napa	5.6	5.4		5.9		87.9	73.1		51.5
San Francisco	2.5	2.6	r	4.2	r	20.7	29.1	r	25.5	r
San Mateo	2.8	2.5		2.9		19.1	22.5		20.8
Santa Clara	2.6	2.3		2.5		21.3	25.4		19.8
Solano	4.2	4.2		3.5		47.8	50.5		37.7
Sonoma	4.1	3.9		3.8		52.1	63.8		50.6
Southern California
Los Angeles	5.2	4.9		4.6		51.1	54.8		43.6
Orange County	5.1	5.1		5.1		65.1	71.9		56.6
Riverside County	7.0	7.1		5.6		72.3	70.0		49.0
San Bernardino	6.2	5.4		5.0		58.1	63.5		45.8	r
San Diego	4.6	5.0		5.0		28.6	35.0		29.9
Ventura	5.8	5.2		5.2		66.5	72.6		58.3
Central Coast
Monterey	5.3	4.7		5.5		34.2	42.0		40.2
San Luis Obispo	5.6	5.0		5.9		39.9	37.9		47.2
Santa Barbara	5.8	5.4		6.3		46.6	54.9		28.1	r
Santa Cruz	3.5	3.9		3.7		28.5	46.0		49.9
Central Valley
Fresno	5.7	6.1		5.8		34.5	42.4		31.8
Glenn	4.0	2.7		9.5		70.7	82.8		98.3
Kern (Bakersfield)	5.0	4.5	r	3.7	r	33.0	37.0		30.0	r
Kings County	6.8	6.6		4.3		51.3	50.3		54.4
Madera	12.9	9.5		2.5		94.6	58.2		58.6	r
Merced	4.9	6.6		4.6		58.7	48.6		29.6
Placer County	4.5	4.7		4.2		39.5	42.7		26.5
Sacramento	3.4	3.9		3.8		27.8	34.2		25.7
San Benito	2.9	3.8		3.3		41.0	52.2		41.9
San Joaquin	4.4	4.6		3.8		35.5	39.3		25.4
Stanislaus	4.5	4.1		3.9		29.8	32.9		26.1
Tulare	5.4	6.3		5.9		49.5	49.7		40.4
Other Counties in California
Amador	6.4	7.4		4.7		110.3	115.2		36.8
Butte County	4.4	4.7		6.4	r	55.2	50.5		49.6	r
Calaveras	8.6	8.4		7.2		93.0	47.0		75.0	r
Del Norte	12.2	8.4		20.9		127.0	160.0		159.0	r
El Dorado County	5.5	6.0		6.1		62.7	79.9		46.4
Humboldt	5.9	7.5		9.3		77.1	56.8		52.8
Lake County	8.2	6.9		6.5		109.6	103.4		84.0	r
Mariposa	13.5	12.0		3.7		135.5	68.3		105.5
Mendocino	8.9	10.2		9.0		100.7	123.7		70.7
Nevada	7.3	6.0		7.7		52.0	60.0		46.5
Plumas	14.0	25.3		24.1		192.5	155.0		106.0
Shasta	7.9	7.4		7.1		64.2	71.2		55.2
Siskiyou County	15.2	12.8		16.7		56.4	122.1		110.3
Sutter	4.3	4.4		3.6	r	49.5	78.7		25.5	r
Tehama	10.0	5.7		12.9		45.5	53.8		70.7
Tuolumne	6.7	7.2		7.8		57.1	50.3		86.4
Yolo	3.4	4.3		4.2		29.1	45.5		28.1
Yuba	3.7	4.9		6.0	r	29.0	37.2		38.3	r

r = revised
  

OCT MARKET STATS from SDAR

SAN DIEGO (November 7, 2014) – The San Diego County housing market continues to stabilize, according to new housing statistics from the Greater San Diego Association of REALTORS® (SDAR).

The median price of single-family resale homes dipped slightly in October to just under $500,000. Sale prices of condos and townhomes held steady at $337,500. Single-family home prices are about 4.5 percent higher than a year ago, while prices of condos/townhomes are up 14 percent. Taken together, all resale home prices are up about 8 percent from October 2013.

While month-over-month sales of previously owned single-family homes increased 2 percent in October, sales of condo/townhouses decreased by more than 3 percent. Combined, sales are down about 9 percent from a year ago.

The number of active listings on the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) in San Diego County is just under 8,000, representing three months of housing stock. (Six months is considered a healthy inventory level.) On average, homes on the market are being snapped up within about 45 days of being listed.

“These new numbers are encouraging because they tell us the San Diego housing market has become
more balanced,” said Leslie Kilpatrick, 2014 SDAR Board President. “Homes aren’t staying on the market long, so homeowners who are thinking of selling are in a good position. While inventory has grown, the most sought after properties sell quickly, so buyers need to be prepared to act. This not the time to sit on the sidelines if a move is in your future.”

The most expensive listing sold last month in the county: a 6-bedroom, 9-bath, 12,585-square-foot home in Rancho Santa Fe that sold for $6 million. SDAR’s housing statistics are compiled monthly from the Multiple Listing Service (MLS). Click here for a detailed look at the numbers. Here is a summary:

MEDIAN SALES PRICE Comparing October 2014 to September 2014
• Single-Family: 3% DECREASE
October 2014 = $ 496,750
September 2014 = $ 510,000

• Condos/Townhomes: UNCHANGED
October 2014 = 337,500
September 2014 = $ 337,500

MEDIAN SALES PRICE Comparing October 2014 to October 2013
• Single-Family: 5 percent INCREASE
October 2014 = $ 496,750
October 2013 = $ 475,000

• Condos/Townhomes: 14 percent INCREASE
October 2014 = $ 337,500
October 2013 = $ 296,000

TOTAL SOLD LISTINGS Comparing October 2014 to September 2014
• Single---Family: 2 percent INCREASE
October 2014 = 1,764
September 2014 = 1,728

• Condos/Townhomes: 3 percent DECREASE
October 2014 = 835
September 2014 = 865

TOTAL SOLD LISTINGS Comparing October 2014 to October 2013
• Single---Family: 7 percent DECREASE
October 2014 = 1,764
October 2013 = 1,906

• Condos/Townhomes: 12 percent DECREASE
October 2014 = 835
October 2013 = 944

 

Jennifer Zheng

REALTOR®, Abacus Properties Inc.

16870 West Bernardo Drive, Suite 400
San Diego, CA 92127
Cell #: (858) 344-8478

BRE License #: 01450123

Email: jenniferzhengrealty@gmail.com

My service, service for Life

Does the Real Estate Brokerage Matter to the Home Buyer / Seller?

JENNIFER'S NOTE:
I share his viewpoint of "in the minority", but I'm not afraid of being one of them. To me, quality always goes prior to quantity. My goal is to make every transaction I handled a showcase. To be objective, occasionally brokerage company does matter nonetheless, especially when a buyer or seller picks an agent from advertisement with no extra info on that person, barely "hoping" that big brand produces top notch agents, but the fact is almost all brokerages tend to hire anyone who walks in the door.

Here is a question that often stirs debate in real estate circles:

Does the Real Estate Brokerage Matter to the Home Buyer / Seller?

The always brilliant Marc Davison of 1000 Watt Consulting shared this on Twitter earlier today:

Sum folks think Brokerage doesn’t matter 2 the public. I disagree. If it didn’t this letter would NOT have been written

 



That Tweet links to this great letter from a real estate client to a broker at Avery-Hess Realtors in Maryland, Virginia, Metro DC and West Virginia – What Really Matters in Real Estate.

And Avery-Hess is absolutely right – this letter from a very satisfied client exemplifies what really matters in real estate.

I don’t know anyone at Avery-Hess, but I would love to meet them as they appear to share a philosophy with Thompson’s Realty – that being hire the right agents who live and breathe the right values and will provide superior customer service to their clients. This probably sounds stunningly obvious to the real estate buyer or seller out there. After all, real estate sales is a service-based business so isn’t customer service of paramount importance?

Of course it is. Yet the traditional real estate brokerage has a propensity to hire anyone that walks in the door. I call it the “hire anyone with a license and a pulse” brokerage model.

And it’s a ridiculous practice that is killing the real estate sales industry.

We’ve turned down “top producing” real estate agents that have inquired about working at our brokerage. One even argued extensively with me that, “I had to hire him”.

Uhm, no. I don’t. I hire people that share my passion for customer service and real estate. Period, end of story. Treat clients like a number, focus on nothing but “closing the deal” and you can go work somewhere else, no matter how much revenue you generate.

The above mini-rant about brokerage models has a purpose

Someone has read this far and said, “For the love of Pete man, answer the freaking question already!” Does the real estate brokerage matter to the real estate “consumer” – the home buyer and/or seller?

My short answer is no, the brokerage doesn’t matter to the vast majority of home buyers and sellers.

Don’t get me wrong, the brokerage matters. It’s the brokerage that does (or more often does not) the upfront leg work in hiring the right kind of agents. It’s the brokerage that makes sure their agents have what they need to ensure a great client experience. Or at least that’s what the brokerage should be doing. Avery-Hess is doing it. We are doing it. We are not alone, though sadly it seems like we are in the minority.

But the consumer (generally) doesn’t care what brokerage their agent works for. Heck, often they don’t even know what the brokerage is, or understand the broker’s and brokerages role in the process. It is my contention that the vast majority of real estate buyers and sellers chose the agent, not the agent’s brokerage, to represent them. That belief is substantiated in many ways…


Cases in point:

• Countless times in my past as an agent in a Century 21 franchise office, I would meet a client (note, a client, not a prospect) for the first time face-to-face and I’d hand them a business card only to be met with, “Oh, you’re with Century 21?”What does that tell you? It tells me the client didn’t care who I worked for.
• In just over two years as an independent brokerage we’ve had a grand total of 2 clients ask if they would be at a disadvantage because we are a small independent as opposed to a large national franchise brokerage. Once we explained our value proposition, both were more than satisfied. (Of note, there is no way to know how many, if any, have never called on us because we are small and independent.)
• The National Association of Realtors (NAR) recently released their 2009 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers. Michael McClure wrote a great piece on this which included a graphic from the NAR report that showed only 3% of home buyers and sellers chose an agent based on the brokerage they were associated with.
• Keller Williams, themselves one of the largest national real estate brands published an (undated) white paper that stated:
  Nevertheless, the largest real estate firms continue to hold to their position that brand will influence the customer “at the kitchen table.” That is, when presented with the choice between one agent or another, the customer will choose the agent representing the better-known company. NAR’s research directly contradicts this claim (my emphasis).

Let’s look closer at the very letter to the broker that Marc Davison and Avery-Hess themselves claim demonstrates it is the brokerage that matters:

Sheila, upon first meeting, was professional and approachable.  She understood our situation and did an exceptional job of nurturing a well balanced relationship with us throughout the term of our lease.

          Sheila’s professionalism continued through out the house search…

Sheila gets all of the credit for us finding a solid move-in-ready home…
I didn’t even think about writing to you, Mr. Hess, until at closing one of the seller’s agents said in jest that I should write you…

Shelia was professional and approachable, not Avery-Hess Realtors. She, not her broker, understood the client’s situation. Shelia, not the brokerage, gets all the credit. The client “didn’t even think about writing” to the broker.

Don’t get me wrong here. Shelia sounds like a wonderful agent. If she ever relocates to Phoenix, she’s got a job here. Avery-Hess sounds like a great brokerage. They vet their agents and obviously don’t subscribe to the hire anyone with a license and pulse brokerage model. Kudo’s to them for having the vision, sticking to it, and hiring the kind of agent that helps spread that vision. They helped deliver the agent to the client, but they had little to do with the client selecting that agent.

You see, this client, like the vast majority of real estate buyers and sellers out there, didn’t pick Avery-Hess the brokerage to represent them. They didn’t pick David Hess, the Vice-president to represent them. They picked Shelia Carney. And they loved her. I’ll bet you any amount of money you’d like that should Shelia Carney change brokerages, the client that wrote that letter will call Shelia, not the brokerage, to represent her again. I bet you she will tell her family and friends that ask for an agent reference, “Use Shelia Carney, she’s amazing!” not, “Call Avery-Hess” – no matter how amazing they are.

6 things homebuyers should avoid doing once they are preapproved for a mortgage

From Share Source inman.com

Making other major purchases or applying for new credit can turn experience into big hassle

You have done the hard part in the homebuying process and chosen a lender and a real estate agent to work with. You have also gone out and found the home of your dreams! Best of all, your team has done a great job of negotiating the best deal for you.

Now, as a buyer, all you have to do is sit back and wait for your loan to close … right? Wrong!!

Do's and don'ts image via Shutterstock.

 

Getting a home loan these days is a very interactive process. I am always amazed by how many clients I work with who come to me unaware of all the pitfalls they face during the loan process. To help avoid any surprises while waiting for final approval, I provide my clients with a short list of “do’s and don’ts” to follow.
Let’s start with the “do’s” …

1. Do keep the process moving by responding to your loan officers’ requests for documentation as soon as possible.
2. Do make decisions as soon as is reasonably possible.
3. Do convey questions or concerns you have as they develop.
4. Do continue to make all of your rent or mortgage payments on time.
5. Do stay current on all other existing accounts.
6. Do continue to work your normal work schedule with no unplanned time off.
7. Do continue to use your credit as normal.
8. Do be prepared to explain any large deposits in your bank accounts.
9. Do enjoy purchasing your home but remain objective throughout the process to help make decisions that are best for you.

After you have been preapproved for your mortgage you will want to refrain from the following …

1. Do not make any major purchases (car, boat, jewelry, furniture, appliances, etc.).
2. Do not apply for any new credit (even if it says you are preapproved or “xxx days same as cash”).
3. Do not pay off charges or collections (unless directed by your loan officer to do so).
4. Do not make any changes to your credit profile.
5. Do not change bank accounts.
6. Do not make unusual deposits into your bank accounts or move money around from one account to another.

Follow these simple rules and you will help to make your loan closing as smooth and hassle-free as possible! Good luck!

About Roof

After 1980, almost all roofs are concrete tiles. Before that, asphalt
composite/shingle is the most common one. You don't always need to replace the whole
roof, many people start with replacing the Water proofing aka felt paper
that's underneath the tile or shingle. It takes about $8000 for felt,  and $
25,000 for both felt and roof top for a 2000 sqft house. Concrete usually
lasts 30-50ys, and composite 20-30ys depending on the quality of felt paper.
The thicker the better. Felt paper of 20lbs is the thinnest.

If your roof is shingle originally, when you replace it with concrete titles, the house top may not sustain the weight of concrete unless its structure is updated. Do not go with the light concrete that
cannot be walked on.

所以看房龄才决定要不要换。如果屋没漏但心已切，建议取中间值。Get 3 quotes before you select which company to go with, the pricing may vary 20%.