Like many others this year we have been driven to our homes more than ever before. 2020 was a year like no other for our generation. COVID has impacted every industry and every aspect of our lives. The real estate market has been drastically affected. U.S. home prices are rising at an accelerating pace, new data show, as the strongest housing boom in more than a decade according to the Wall Street Journal.
Demand for homes has surged in the past year as buyers took advantage of record-low interest rates and the pandemic prompted many households to seek bigger houses that could better accommodate remote work. Home sales in 2020 rose 5.6%. Which is the highest pace since 2006.
We are still in our starter home. I have loved this house! So many blood, sweat and tears have been poured into our fixer upper. We always pictured ourselves here for about 5 years. That mark hit last Fall. After having our second baby the walls are slowly closing in on us. We have been looking for a home for nearly 6 months. The pandemic and historically low interest rates have made for a sellers’ market across the country. Kansas City is absolutely no exception!
The Kansas City real estate market was already competitive before the coronavirus, with Kansas City home prices rising faster than most U.S. cities. Zillow research shows Kansas City, Cincinnati, Columbus, and Raleigh among the nation’s fastest-moving large markets with sellers typically accepting offers after only four days on the market. The lack of inventory is the key factor according to Bloomberg.com
We are pretty specific on the area of K.C. we are willing to live in which has made our search even harder! Selling our home before we are ready is a concern so we are holding off until we can secure our next house.
Finances are a huge decision in our next real estate buy so I have been relying on calculators on
MortgageCalculators.info. They have quite a few calculators that can assist in refinancing, buying and renting a home.
As a real estate agent I also want my clients to be informed about their decisions so I love to refer them to these calculators to conduct their own research before reaching out to other professionals. One item many sellers forget to think about is closing costs. This closing cost calculator helps to figure out closing cost prices.
As a seller and hopefully soon-to-be buyer I love to rely on these calculators to help to keep us informed on our real estate financial decisions.
Whether you are trying to decide to buy, sell, rent or refinance you can find a ton of tools on MortgageCalculators.info. I do believe everything happens for a reason and God has a plan so the right house for us will come along at the right time but I also know how frustrating this sellers’ market can be for a buyer! All we can do is continue to educate ourselves and keep an eye open!
Is anyone else trying to sell their house? Buy a new house? Are you downsizing or trying to find more square footage? Bottom line is being educated on where your finance stand is the first and most important item – especially in this market!
Keep wishing us luck on finding our next “project” 🙂 My husband doesn’t want to hear “project” but the truth is, unless I designed it…even if it’s new I will probably want to change it! Haha! Anyone else searching for their new home???
kelsey
