Low interest rates.

When interest rates are low, borrowing money becomes more affordable. Lower monthly mortgage payments allow more people to qualify for home loans, which increases buyer demand. As more buyers get into the market, competition for homes can intensify. This surge in demand often drives home prices up because more people are able and willing to offer on available properties.

In summary, low interest rates = higher demand = potentially higher home prices

High interest rates

On the flip side, when interest rates rise borrowing becomes more expensive. Higher monthly payments can stretch buyers budgets or even make home ownership unaffordable for some. This leads to a decrease in homebuyer demand because fewer people can afford to purchase homes. With fewer buyers in the market sellers may need to lower their asking prices to attract offers, which can lead to a decline in home prices. In this way, higher interest rates tend to slow down the housing market.

In summary, high interest rates = lower demand = potentially lower home prices.

The bottom line

Interest rates affect both the supply and demand sides of the housing market. When rates are low, more buyers can afford homes, competition increases, and prices often rise. When rates are high, fewer buyers can afford homes, competition decreases, and prices may fall. If you’re planning to buy, sell, or invest it’s important to keep an eye on interest rate trends as they can significantly impact not only how much you pay for a home but also how much your home may be worth in the future.

The post How Interest Rates Affect Home Buying appeared first on The Eden Team.

#1) Pools: Although it’s true that people love swimming pools most prefer enjoying them at someone else’s house. Home buyers view pools as work, expensive to maintain and dangerous. In-ground swimming pools can be costly ranging from $50,000 – $80,000, which is a significant amount of money that may never be recovered when you decide to sell. Swimming pools can limit your pool of buyers (pun intended) and be a negative on resale! Older buyers may over look your otherwise perfect home solely due to the maintenance of the pool. Young families a like may be too concerned with the danger and liability of owning a home with a pool.

#2) Spa Bathrooms: Upgraded bathrooms will definitely add value but you just don’t want to get too carried away adding expensive jetted tubs that are hard to clean and hard for some people to get into, save some money and keep it simple by doing a more traditional tub and a nice glass shower that will appeal to more potential buyers.

#3) Custom Design: You may love your dark purple accent wall or trendy orange carpet but your individuality will limit you when it comes to selling your home. Potential buyers usually prefer a home that’s neutral and tastefully decorated. Spending your money on over personalizing your home will be money that will not be recouped. When it comes to painting stick with a neutral pallet and add some moveable colour with throws and accent pillows to get the most bang for your buck.

#4) Extensive landscaping: Yes you do want to enhance your home’s curb appeal, after all it’s the first impression a buyer gets. What you don’t want to do is invest a ton of money into extensive landscaping that most potential buyers will see as work and costly to maintain, Keep it simple with some low maintenance perennials gardens you can add some colour with beautiful pots or hanging baskets.

#5) Over Improving: Make it nice but not too nice. Be sure to keep your improvements consistent with your neighbourhood. Extensive remodelling or using materials that are too expensive for the neighbourhood should be avoided.

Keep in mind if you’ve just purchased your dream home and plan to be there for many years then go for it – don’t hold back making it your own, but if you are only planning to stay in your home 5 years or less be mindful of what improvements you’re doing and what type of value they will add. If you want guidance or more information you can always contact a local real estate professional.

The post Improvements that DON’T add value appeared first on The Eden Team.

Thinking of buying first?

Pros: If you decide to buy a house before you sell you’ll benefit from not having the pressure of a looming closing date creeping up translating into a more enjoyable experience searching for your next home.

Cons: If you find the perfect home and buy it before you sell your current home you’ll be faced with more uncertainty of how much your current home will sell for as well as when it will close. If your house fails to sell as quickly as you thought you could end up owning 2 homes which can be pricy – paying double mortgages, taxes and all the other costs that come with home ownership. If you decide that buying is best for you then make sure that you’re financially capable of carrying 2 homes. There is an option of making your offer on your next home conditional on the sale of your current property but if it’s a sellers market and homes are moving fast chances are most sellers will go with an offer with more certainty versus one with a sale of property condition.

Planning to sell first?

Pros: If you decide to sell before you buy you’ll benefit from knowing exactly what you’ll be netting when your out looking at homes.  Selling first also eliminates the risk of owning 2 homes.

Cons: The downside of selling first is that you’ll have an imminent closing date which can add stress to the buying process making it less enjoyable and potentially having you settle for a less than perfect house because you’re in panic mode of not having anywhere to live.

The current market conditions will play a large factor in your decision making, if it’s a buyers market selling first would be a good idea because you’ll be more confident on the buying end. Alternatively if it’s a sellers market selling should be easy so buying first may be the best choice.  It all comes down to you and your unique situation, we as real estate professionals can guide you, giving you all the pros and cons so you can make an informed decision on what’s best for you and of course we can offer some strategies to ensure you’re not stuck owning 2 homes. Whether you decide to buy first or sell first it’s a good idea to have a contingency plan such as a short term rental, storage pods, moving in with family temporarily, bridge financing, etc. It’s always smart to have a plan in place for any unexpected situation that could arise.

The post Do I buy before I sell or sell before I buy? appeared first on The Eden Team.

The first way is to compare the home to the neighbourhood sales. If the homes are basically the same size and style generally neighbourhood values will be close and consistent. So if 2 homes just sold in the same area and both were roughly 1500 sq ft bungalows with 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms and one sold for $550,000, the other sold for $547,000 and the same type of home has been listed for $590,000 there’s a good chance it’s overpriced for the market.

The second way to tell if a home is overpriced is to see how long it has been listed for.  If it’s been on the market for over 90 days and other homes in the same area have all been selling in under 60 days it’s pretty safe to assume that the price tag is too high.

The third way to identify an overpriced home is to see how much action it’s getting. If it’s being well marketed on every platform available and there’s been lots of showings and activity on the property but no one is bringing an offer, you guessed it, it’s overpriced!

The post How to Spot an Overpriced Home appeared first on The Eden Team.