Brian McIntosh nmls#1518252 Homeowners Financial Group

WHAT A REVIEW!!!!!

What our real estate partners are saying about The McIntosh Team!!!!

Loan Officer Reacts - New Home Market Crash? Loan Officer Reacts to New Home Data published for February 2024.-------------------------------------------------------- ...

ResiClub mapped out Realtor.com's "Hotness Score". This creates an awesome visual of how well each real estate market is doing. For all my upstate South Carolinians, our market is still moving along during the slowest part of the year.

I wonder what Spring will bring?

My friend, Lindsie Sink, has a beautiful listing out in Spartanburg. If you (or anyone you know) is looking for a 3 bed/3 bath home in Spartanburg. Check this one out!

614 Cobden Court, Spartanburg, SC 29301 - ListReports House photos, infographics, and listing agent details for 614 Cobden Court, Spartanburg, SC 29301. This home is priced at $330000, with 3 beds, 3 baths, and 1828 sqft.

WAITING FOR RATES TO FALL BEFORE BUYING A HOME?

If you look a little deeper, your money saving strategy may seem more like a bet with the odds stacked against you. High rates mean high monthly payments, so why would waiting for rates be a bad thing? Don't lower rates mean lower payments? The answer to both questions can simply be, "Yes." But the simple answer isn't the best answer because it leaves out a major component of real estate: appreciation. This is when the value of a home, or for anything in that matter, goes up. It's one of the few things that we can buy that doesn't lose it's value.

Since Spring of 2022, that's when the rates started to skyrocket up, we have seen a steady increase in home value. According to Zillow, home values in the Upstate increased by 4.43% (very close to what homes were doing prior to COVID) in 2023, despite rates ping-ponging in the range of 6% - 8%.

If home values continue to rise at 2023's pace then buying now is the clear choice. The chart doesn't say this, but the strategy is to buy now and refinance later (if the rates fall). If the rates don't fall, the cost of waiting is even greater. Regardless of what rates do, not buying is going to cost you thousands.

The Mortgage Bankers Association (among many others) just hasn’t quite forecasted the movement of rates correctly. Forecasting mortgage rates is a difficult task and even experts can make mistakes. This graph shows the difference between the actual and estimated mortgage rates over time. The actual rates, shown by the red line, were higher than the estimates, shown by the dotted lines.

I’ve already heard from several people that their financial advisor advised them to wait on purchasing a home until rates fall. If you’re someone who has been waiting since mid-2022 for that to happen you’ve really missed out on some equity growth. If you work with the right professionals, they’ll let you know that you don’t have to accept the current market rates.

Real Estate transactions are easier when EVERYONE works together. Being on the financing side of things, most of my time is spent speaking with the buyer and their agent. However, our team takes pride in communicating with the selling side because it literally takes everyone to make it happen.

I’m happy to report that you don’t have to take my word for it. Take a look at what Olivia had to say!

🏡Buying A Brand New Home? 🏡Here’s Something To Consider…

…LOCK YOUR RATE NOW!

Why?

Contract cancellations are on the rise and most likely due to interest rates (easy guess, right?).

A Redfin article states that 15.7% of pending home sales fell out of contract as of August 2023, but what it doesn’t mention is how new build homes could be the main culprit like it was in 2022.

So, let’s turn back the clock for a second. Let’s say you went under contract for a new build home in February of 2022 and you were pre-approve with a 3.5% interest rate.

Most likely, your lender didn’t lock-in your interest rate until about 45 days from completion when rates were almost 6.0%! When rates go up, so does your payment.

Imagine it’s June and you’re talking to your lender. They tell you that you don’t qualify for financing on your new home because the payment is too high.

Now you have to cancel your contract. Not only that, you’re probably canceling the contract on the HOME YOU’RE SELLING.

That’s two contract cancellations because of one falling out. It doesn’t take much for the dominos to fall.

CONSIDER THIS:

- Is your pre-approval for your new home based on a short term rate?
- Is your rate locked in for the duration of the build? If not, are you prepared to potentially take on a higher rate?

We at The McIntosh Team would love to answers these questions for you and consult you on your mortgage strategy for your new home.

Contact us a call today!

678.392.0053 (call or text)
[email protected]

Greater than 64% of people who view listings in Greenville, SC are from OUT OF STATE! Why could this be important?

This can have a significant impact on real estate prices and rents, as well as housing affordability. When more people move to a state, they increase the demand for housing, both for buying and renting. This puts pressure on the existing housing stock, which may not be enough to accommodate the new residents. As a result, prices and rents tend to go up, and housing becomes less affordable.

If you’re wondering why we haven’t seen a real estate bubble bust, here is your answer.

This is what we do at Homeowners! We make the home buying process easy and stress-free for our clients. This customer was very pleased with our professionalism and expertise and wrote a glowing review for us. This is what they had to say:

The review doesn’t have to say much to sum up the experience. As much as I would love to take credit for making the dream happen, I was the smallest cog in the machine. Rates are the focal point for headlines news, but for our buyer, becoming a home owner is all that mattered and we delivered!

Big Recovery For Mortgage Rates After Jobs Report In discussing mortgage rates near 23-year highs yesterday, we asked if there was any hope for relief and concluded that the only question was one of timing.  In turn, timing would depend on eco...

My Mortgage Manager is the no-cost way to stay informed about mortgage interest rates. By constantly monitoring fluctuating rates, I can help you time a refinance correctly or decide if it makes sense to sell your current home and buy a new one.

Rates change daily, so there’s no better time than now to get started with My Mortgage Manager. Let’s talk today!

https://homeownersfg.com/m3/brianmcintosh/

Thank you friends for coming out to our Economic Forum and Wine Tasting at Carter Family Wines! I most certainly had a great time and I hope you did as well.

They did it! Not only are they homeowners, but they are investing in their future. It's always encouraging to see smiling faces!