Eugene Oregon Real Estate Blog

Good Morning!

Here in the Eugene and Springfield area and nationally, new home sales are down.  This has contributed to the current national and local shortage of available homes for sale.  The following is an article from "Realtor.com" that will give you more information on why the inventory of homes for sale is so low at this time.

Here’s the good news: Sales of newly constructed homes rose in the beginning of the year. The bad news? It wasn’t enough to ease the housing shortage that is frustrating would-be home buyers across the nation.

Buyers purchased about 3.7% more new homes in January than in December, according to a joint report by the U.S. Census Bureau and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The January purchases were also 5.5% above where they had been a year earlier. (Realtor.com® looked only at the seasonally adjusted numbers, which have been smoothed out over 12 months to account for seasonal fluctuations.)

Sounds good, right? Well, not exactly.

“New-home sales should be growing much more than they are,” says Chief Economist Jonathan Smoke of realtor.com. “We should be seeing twice the volume of new-home sales, and we’re not.”

The reason is that there aren’t enough buyers who can afford the median $312,900 price tag of one of those new homes, often decked out with the latest appliances and finishes. They are nearly 37% more expensive than the median $228,900 price for an existing home in January, according to the most recent National Association of Realtors® data.

Prices on those new homes dipped 1% from December—but were nearly 7.5% higher than in January 2016.

New residences cost more because they’re expensive to build, with increased local red tape, high land and material costs, and a shortage of construction workers. So builders are going to erect only what they’re sure they can sell, Smoke says.

“It effectively limits who can buy the new homes and how many new homes can be built and sold,” Smoke says.

For example, about 55% of the new homes sold in January cost more than $300,000, according to the report.

Just 5% were under $150,000 and only 9% were between $150,000 and $199,999—the price categories that are most likely to fit into the typical first-time buyer’s budget.

The bulk of sales, about 30%, were between $200,000 and $299,999, and 27% were between $300,000 and $399,999.

Most of the home purchases were in the South—about 290,000—where prices are typically lower. The purchases were up 4.3% from December, but down 1% from January 2016.

The West, the country’s most expensive region, saw the second-most sales, at about 151,000. Monthly sales dropped 4.4% but rose 16.2% annually.

In the Midwest, new-home sales were up 14.8% from December and 4.5% from the same month a year earlier. There were about 70,000 sales in the region.

Meanwhile, the Northeast saw the largest surge in home purchases. Sales of the roughly 44,000 homes were up 15.8% from the previous month and rose 22.2% from a year earlier.

Have An Awesome Week!

THIS WEEKS HOT HOME LISTING!

755 HORN LN

Price: $295,000    Beds: 4    Baths: 2    Sq Ft: 1868

Tranquil & spacious property! Beautifully landscaped 0.41 acre lot provides seclusion & great entertaining spaces. Remodeled home offers updated kitchen & baths, large living rm w/ gas fp, formal dining, large windows+skylight. Private master ste w/...View Home for Sale >>

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Good Morning!

Here are the numbers for the February 2017 Real Estate market in the Eugene and Springfield area.  As you can see, there was little change.  The inventory of homes for sale remains critically low and the result is fewer sales and higher home prices.  The Eugene/Springfield area remains as one of the lowest areas in the country for active homes for sale at just 2.2 months of active inventory available.  All that I can say is the same thing that I have been saying.  If you are thinking about selling your home in the near future, this is the top of the market for home pricing and you should take advantage of it. Here are the numbers for February.

 

February Residential Highlights

Activity in Lane County continued a cooling trend this February, but some numbers showed gains over January. New listings (393) showed a 22.8% gain over January 2017 but ended 5.5% below the 416 new listings offered last year in February 2016.

Similarly, pending sales (369) rose 16.0% above the 318 orders accepted last month in January 2017 but were 12.1% under the 420 orders accepted last year in February 2016.

Closed sales, at 247, ended 13.0% under February 2016 (284) and 9.5% under January 2017 (273).

February saw inventory in Lane County rise just slightly to 2.2 months. Total market time during the same period rose three days to 75 days.

Average and Median Sale Prices

Comparing the average price of homes in the twelve months ending February 28th of this year ($266,000) with the average price of homes sold in the twelve months ending February 2016 ($244,400) shows an increase of 8.8%. The same comparison of the median shows an increase of 8.3% over that same period.

Have An Awesome Week!

THIS WEEKS HOT HOME LISTING!

1471 BARRINGTON AVE

Price: $514,900    Beds: 5    Baths: 3    Sq Ft: 3756

Luxurious & grand! Great Rm w/ surround sound, Brazilian cherry hardwd & gas fp. HUGE theater/bonus rm. Open KIT w/ cherry stained cabinets, island, LED under+above cabinet & toe-kick lights. Private mstr ste w/ access to back, bath w/ heated marble...View Home for Sale >>

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Good Morning!

Nationally, the housing market is experiencing little change.  So far, this is what I predicted for the first half of 2017 with a fairly flat market.  The second half of 2017 could see some change, especially if we see mortgage interest rates begin to creep up.  Here in the Eugene and Springfield area, the inventory of homes for sale remains at a crippling low level for first time home buyers.  Homes in the $175,000 to $300,000 range are scarce.  

If you are thinking about selling your home this year, don't hesitate.  Right now is the time to get it on the market.  The worst thing you could do this year is to wait for Spring and Summer.  The present market may be the best market we see in years for home sellers!

Have An Awesome Week!

Video Link: http://eugeneoregonhomesforsale.com/video/This-Month-in-Real-Estate-March-2017

THIS WEEKS HOT HOME LISTING!

114 Hayden Bridge Way

Price: $249,900    Beds: 3    Baths: 2    Sq Ft: 1451

Pride of ownership shows. Over 1/4 of an acre offers oversize attached garage, detached garage/shop with workbench, long wide drive with room for RV parking, large fenced backyard with covered patio, plus timed sprinkler system. Great room with fire...View Home for Sale >>

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Good Morning!

Eugene's recent housing market is currently seeing record low number of homes on the market for sale.  In fact, the inventory right now is less than two months and second lowest in the nation.  The price range of homes that is hardest hit by this shortage is those that are at or below the median sales price of around $265,000.  This is the price range that most young families and first time home buyers are in.  The housing shortage has created some severe problems in our area as the shortage continues to drive home prices higher, making them less affordable.  Home price increases have outpaced the increase in income for our local area and as a result have actually pushed many first time home buyers completely out of the market or pushed them into price prices where there are low inventory and high demand.

Why does Eugene have one of the lowest inventories of available housing?

One major culprit is the fact that city and county land planners have refused to extend the urban growth boundary for Eugene.  This has caused a dire shortage of building lots and the shortage has lead to huge price increases for the existing lots.  The result of this is lack of new construction, which has fallen well below demand and has lead to a very high price for any new construction.  The urban growth boundary freeze is the primary culprit for low inventories and non-affordable housing, especially for young families and first-time home buyers.  As available lots become even more scarce the cost of housing continues to skyrocket and the affordability factor continues to decline.  This is not a healthy situation for any community.

Right now, City and County land planners are again refusing to expand the urban growth boundary for residential in Eugene.  This means a continuation of lot shortages, high priced lots, housing shortages and non-affordable housing for Eugene.  This refusal to extend the urban growth boundary for residential has choked our community for years and now during a time of crisis in the local housing market the planners refuse to help remedy our problem.

If you are concerned with the current housing crisis in Eugene, then I urge you to contact both county and city land planners and express your concern.  The failure to create affordable housing in Eugene will continue to choke our economy and drive our young families to other cities.

Have An Awesome Week!

THIS WEEKS HOT HOME LISTING!

1471 BARRINGTON AVE

Price: $514,900    Beds: 5    Baths: 3    Sq Ft: 3756

Luxurious & grand! Great Rm w/ surround sound, Brazilian cherry hardwd & gas fp. HUGE theater/bonus rm. Open KIT w/ cherry stained cabinets, island, LED under+above cabinet & toe-kick lights. Private mstr ste w/ access to back, bath w/ heated marble...View Home for Sale >>

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Good Morning!

Today, with home prices rising faster than wages and a slight bump in mortgage interest rates, the home market for first-time homebuyers is tougher than it has been in a long time.  Saving enough money for a downpayment and also enough money to keep monthly payments in check can be a tough task.  The following article from "Realty Times" gives would be first-time homebuyers some good advice on how to prepare for a home purchase.

According to Harvard University's "State of the Nation's Housing" report, while more people than ever before want to own their own home, fewer feel financially ready to do so yet. Reasons range from high rents to student loan debt. Millennials, in particular, are waiting longer to get married, start families and purchase their first home. But this is not necessarily bad news for the housing market. In fact, it could mean that the millennial generation has something to teach us all about saving consistently towards a big life goal such as owning your own home!

In this article, learn three important steps to take when you start saving for your dream home.

Step 1: Pay down your debt to clean up your credit.

Your credit score is a tricky business when it comes to saving for your first home. You have no history of carrying a mortgage, so you can't make any real impact there. What you can do is to clean up your overall credit report so your general credit score is as healthy as possible before you apply for your mortgage loan.

According to the National Foundation for Credit Counseling (NFCC), a surprising number of Americans think they have "above average" (60 percent) to "very good" (41 percent) credit, although a full 48 percent have not seen their credit score in the past three years or ever.

So clearly, this is where you need to start. The best way to differentiate yourself from your competition (other people who are trying to convince a direct lender to give them a mortgage loan) is to pay down your debt, clear up any disputes on your credit report and, in so doing, boost your credit score so you can qualify for the best mortgage at the lowest interest rates.

Step 2: Separate and automate your savings.

Saving money is never going to be the easiest goal you attempt. In fact, according to The Atlantic, one of the chief reasons that nearly half of all Americans have little or no emergency savings to fall back on is taking on too much mortgage debt.

So here is a clear area where you should proceed with caution. First, save. Then, buy a home. The best approach to make saving as painless as possible for you is to automate your savings. You can do this by setting up direct deposit on your paycheck and then regular auto-drafts into a savings account reserved just for dream home savings. This way, you never even touch those funds and feel tempted to spend them instead.

Step 3: Downsize to upsize

Finally, one effective change many adults today are making to save more towards their dream home is to downsize while they save. This can mean anything from moving to a smaller apartment to getting rid of your cable television subscription. Also, you must continually remind yourself why you have downsized in order for this step to work well.

But the key to making downsizing work to serve your greater goals is to make sure you deposit every cent of what you save into your dream home fund. Referring back to Step 2 here, the easiest way to do this is to calculate for yourself exactly what you are saving by paying less rent, giving up cable, etc., and then setting up a monthly auto-draft in that amount to deposit directly into your dream home savings account.

By following these three steps, you can make tangible financial progress in saving to buy your dream home. If you can save 20 percent towards a downpayment, you can avoid paying expensive Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI) and you may even qualify for a lower interest rate. Scrimping and saving is never fun or easy, but it will be worth it when your realtor hands you that brand-new set of house keys!

Have An Awesome Week!

THIS WEEKS HOT LISTING!

Hilltop Drive #1

Price: $225,000    Beds: 0    Baths: 0    Sq Ft: 0

Development property platted for 8 residential building lots. Easy access for roads and utilities. Lot sizes range from 6,700 sq. ft. to 14,000 sq. ft. Plat map and estimate on development costs available upon request....View this property >>

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Good Morning,

The January numbers are in for the Eugene and Springfield Real Estate market.  Our current trend continues with higher home prices and a very low inventory of homes on the market for sale.  Home prices are up over 8% over the past twelve months, which along with a slight bump in mortgage interest rates has made our local market the least affordable it has been in over three years.

Don't look for this trend to end quickly.  If you are wanting to purchase a home this year, you may have more difficulty finding that perfect home.  Many of the homes that we are currently finding for our buyers are homes that we have knowledge of before they hit the market.  If you are serious about purchasing a home this year, your best bet would be to contact us, so that we can determine what you are wanting to purchase and then work to find you that home.  It's harder, but we have been very successful at it.

 

January Residential Highlights

Lane County started the year a little cooler than last January. Closed sales (273) fared 5.0% better than in January 2016 (260) although falling 26.2% compared to last month in December 2016 (370).

Pending sales, at 318 for the month, ended 3.6% under the 330 offers accepted last January but were 27.7% ahead of last month in December 2016.

Similarly, new listings, at 320, ended 23.8% below last January (420) but showed a 48.8% increase from the 215 new listings offered last month in December 2016.

Inventory increased in Lane County to 2.1 months in January, with total market time decreasing by twelve days to end at 72 days.

Average and Median Sale Prices

Comparing the average price of homes in the twelve months ending January 31st of this year ($264,800) with the average price of homes sold in the twelve months ending January 2016 ($244,400) shows an increase of 8.3%. The same comparison of the median shows an increase of 7.7% over that same period.

Have An Awesome Week!

THIS WEEKS HOT HOME LISTING!

1004 Leopold

Price: $257,500    Beds: 4    Baths: 3    Half Baths: 1    Sq Ft: 2715

A beautiful & luxurious home built along a wonderful park. This spacious home includes 2 master suites (1 upstairs & 1 downstairs), large kitchen, formal dining, open living room with gas fireplace, an upstairs bonus & plenty of storage throughout. ...View Home for Sale>>

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Good Monday Morning!

Anyone who has been keeping in touch with either the local or national housing market trends knows that 2016 was a record year for home sales.  2017 is starting off totally different than the previous year, though.  There are many questions as to what kind of Real Estate market 2017 will turn out to be.  Here is an article from Realtor.com that talks about the direction that the 2017 housing market will most likely take.

The days of multiple bids and offers that are typically way higher than a home’s asking price—you know, that stuff that we now consider to be normal in the housing biz—aren’t expected to disappear anytime soon. But here’s the good news: Things aren’t expected to get too much worse in 2017 either.

Rising mortgage rates, as well as a dearth of affordable, existing homes (i.e., previously lived-in residences) on the market, are expected to lead to a smaller increase in sales in 2017, according to the latest quarterly survey from the National Association of Realtors®.

The survey was of nearly 2,800 U.S. households and conducted from October through early December.

Existing-home prices are expected to go up 4% in 2017, slowing down just a bit from 5% in 2016, according to NAR.The pace of sales is also expected to slow, rising just 2% in 2017, compared with 3.3% in 2016

All in all, 2016 is expected to be the best year for existing-home sales since the height of the housing boom in 2006.

The challenges ahead2017 will “be a year of growth in both sales and prices,” says Chief Economist Jonathan Smoke of realtor.com®. “But that growth will be slower than what we’ve seen over the last three years.”

Those higher mortgage rates have already driven monthly mortgage payments up 7% since the presidential election, Smoke says. And those bigger bills are expected to make it harder for wannabe homeowners, particularly first-time buyers, to qualify for loans.

That’s in addition to the low inventory of available homes on the market that they need to contend with. In November, there were 12% fewer new and existing homes for sale on realtor.com than the same month a year earlier.

Still, the majority of households surveyed still believe now is a good time to buy a home, But fewer renters are getting the buying bug these days. That’s because housing prices are continuing to go up, making affordability an ever bigger challenge, says Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist.

“Younger households, renters, and those living in the costlier West region—where prices have soared in recent months—are the least optimistic about buying,” Yun said in a statement.

According to the survey, about three-quarters of current homeowners who are over 45, make more than $50,000 a year, and live in the Midwest or South were the most confident that now is the time to close on the homes of their dreams.

They are typically the most financially stable or live in the most affordable regions of the country.

But for everyone else, it’s not all doom and gloom. Lenders are beginning to make more loans to buyers with lower credit scores and down payments as well as higher debt-to-income ratios as a result of rising mortgage rates, says Smoke.

That’s because fewer homeowners are likely to refinance their mortgages now that rates have gone up. To make up for that loss in business, lenders have to issue more loans. And higher rates can net mortgage makers higher profits, he says.

“Lenders are getting more aggressive,” Smoke says. “Credit access already appears to be improving because of the rates.”

Have An Awesome Week!

THIS WEEKS HOT HOME LISTING!

1615 Taney St

Price: $269,000    Beds: 4    Baths: 2    ｽ Baths: 1    Sq Ft: 1913

Brand new home! Great quality construction with plaster finished walls, maple hardwood & porcelain tile floor, hickory cabinets, granite counters, 9 ft ceiling, LED dimming lights, 3 skylights one of which opens. Great room layout with gas fireplace...View Home for Sale >>

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Good Morning!

As I have been writing about in previous weeks posts, the inventory of homes for sale both in the U.S. market and here locally in the Eugene and Springfield market is at historic low levels.  In Eugene and Springfield, we remain at just 1.6 months of home inventory, second lowest in the nation.  A healthy Real Estate market will typically have around 6 months of inventory. This is a balanced market.  The following is an article from CNBC that talks about the national housing shortage and some of its causes.

House hunters out this spring will have to pound more and more pavement to find their home sweet home.

The number of for-sale listings fell again in December to the lowest level since 1999, according to the National Association of Realtors. There were just 1.65 million homes for sale at the end of December, which at the current sales pace would take only about 3 ½ months to exhaust. A normal, balanced market has about a six-month supply. This, as the busy spring market is already on the verge of starting. "To say early buyer demand is strong in early 2017 is an understatement — it is titanic. Redfin data shows that buyers are out touring in droves, ready to pounce on new listings that fit the bill," said Nela Richardson, chief economist at Redfin. "The only thing missing is homes for sale to satisfy demand because there just aren't a lot of homes available to buy right now. We are in a real estate black hole until those listings show up again."

In some local markets, the situation is more dire. The share of communities with supply at less than three months jumped from about 13 percent to more than 20 percent in the past year, according to a survey by Proteck Valuation Services, a real estate appraisal and analytics company. For example, in Dallas, the supply of homes for sale dropped by nearly 41 percent from December 2015 to December 2016.

"This means fierce competition for homes, where buyers that are able to act fast and pose less risk to the seller have the advantage. These 'favored' buyers would include those already pre-approved for a mortgage, those with larger cash down payments and those with no contingencies (like the sale of another home)," according to the Proteck report.

The shortage is being driven by surging demand and weak home construction. Single-family housing starts continue to rise, but very slowly each month. Builders are still operating at well below normal construction levels, and that doesn't even account for pent-up demand from the housing crisis and growing household formation.

"The homeownership rate is at a near 50-year low, and it could remain at this level," said Lawrence Yun, chief economist at the NAR. "I'm not sure if this is the trend that America wants."

"We are in a real estate black hole until those listings show up again." Nela Richardson, chief economist, Redfin

The older edge of the millennial generation is finally looking toward homeownership, but finding nothing but frustration in their neighborhoods.

Tight supply is pushing home prices past their peaks in some markets and well past income growth nationally. Mortgage rates were historically low in 2016, helping to offset the higher prices, but that is not the case this year. Rates are already up significantly since the election and are expected to continue higher. Only a few of the big volume home builders are putting resources into the starter home market.

"I continuously say that the industry and the first-time buyer need more homes priced below $250,000, but the high costs of lots, labor and regulations puts tight margins on this price point. In coming months we'll watch to see what influence the rise in rates had," said Peter Boockvar, chief market analyst at The Lindsey Group.

First-time buyers continue to make up less than a third of the sales market; historically they are usually at about 40 percent. Affordability is weakening, but mortgage credit availability also continues to be difficult.

As rates rise, fewer potential borrowers qualify for the strict debt-to-income levels lenders now require. Some are looking to the Trump administration to loosen regulations on lenders, but that could take time and is unlikely to happen before the spring season. The administration already froze a last-minute cut in the FHA insurance premium by the outgoing Obama administration, which might have opened the market to more homebuyers.

"Constrained inventory in many areas and climbing rents, home prices and mortgage rates means it's not getting any easier to be a first-time buyer," said Yun. "It'll take more entry-level supply, continued job gains and even stronger wage growth for first-timers to make up a greater share of the market."

Have An Awesome Week!

THIS WEEKS HOT HOME LISTING!

1471 Barrington Ave

Price: $515,000    Beds: 5    Baths: 3    Sq Ft: 3756

Luxurious and grand! Great room with surround sound speakers, Brazilian cherry hardwood floor & gas fireplace. Huge theater/bonus room prewired for surround sound. Open kitchen with cherry stained cabinets, island, LED under & above cabinets & toe k...View Home for Sale >>

AND HERE'S YOUR MONDAY MORNING COFFEE!!

Good Morning!

Is it a perfect storm situation now taking its grip on the Eugene and Springfield housing market? The overall market here is now as quiet as I have ever witnessed in my 27 years as an area Realtor.  Why would our market change from a blazing hot market to becoming this slow in just a few weeks? 

The answer is complicated, but it is primarily being fueled by the Eugene and Springfield area having the second lowest inventory of homes on the market in the entire United States.  Our home inventory rest at less that 1.7 months of active home inventory. This means that if no new homes hit the market, the current inventory would be exhausted within 1.7 months.  This creates a tough market for potential home buyers.  In our area, the hottest part of the market is median priced homes, which are typically the first time buyer homes.  There really is no inventory at this price level currently.  The majority of the active inventory is in the upper price ranges, where demand has slowed considerably.  On top of this, we have had around an 8% rise in home values in our area over the past 12 months and a rise in mortgage loan interest rates.  The combination of these two factors has made housing less affordable and pushed, even more, would be buyers into the median home price range, where there is no inventory.  Another factor that is fueling our problem is that in the Eugene and Springfield area, there are very few building lots.  The city and county's failure to expand urban growth boundaries has created a critical shortage of home building sites and virtually put a lid on new homes being built in the price ranges where there is demand.  The building lot shortage along with increased costs in permits, SDC's, etc. has pushed lot prices to all-time highs making it impossible to build new affordable housing in our area.  

Where our local market goes in 2017 remains up in the air.  The one thing that I will caution everyone about is that if you are expecting a repeat year like 2016, it is just not going to happen.  As long as home inventories in the median price ranges remain low, prices on these homes remain high and mortgage rates continue to climb, the market here will remain very quiet.

Have An Awesome Week!

THIS WEEK'S HOT HOME LISTING!

1499 Larkspur Avenue

Price: $180,000    Beds: 3    Baths: 1    Half Baths: 1    Sq Ft: 960

Charming, ranch-style home with modern feel and centrally located. Featuring rich hardwood floors, newer roof, countertops and vinyl windows. Other special features include a cozy living rm with wood-burning fireplace, a large bath, laundry area & c...View Home for Sale >>

AND HERE'S YOUR MONDAY MORNING COFFEE!!

Good Monday Morning!

It appears that the combination of slightly higher mortgage interest rates and the lack of available affordable housing will have a slight negative effect on the national housing market in 2017.  This situation will most likely follow the national trend locally in the Eugene and Springfield area.  Our area currently has the second lowest inventory of homes from sale in the nation.  This is a statistic that is great for anyone wanting to sell a home, but not so favorable for anyone wanting to purchase a home.  Here is an article from "Realtor.com", that address the future of the 2017 housing market nationally.

The days of multiple bids and offers that are typically way higher than a home’s asking price—you know, that stuff that we now consider to be normal in the housing biz—aren’t expected to disappear any time soon. But here’s the good news: Things aren’t expected to get too much worse in 2017 either.

Rising mortgage rates as well as a dearth of affordable, existing homes (i.e., previously lived-in residences) on the market are expected to lead to a smaller increase in sales in 2017, according to the latest quarterly survey from the National Association of Realtors®.

Existing-home prices are expected to go up 4% in 2017, slowing down just a bit from 5% in 2016, according to NAR.The pace of sales is also expected to slow, rising just 2% in 2017, compared with 3.3% in 2016

All in all, 2016 is expected to be the best year for existing-home sales since the height of the housing boom in 2006.

The Challenges Ahead

2017 will “be a year of growth in both sales and prices,” says Chief Economist Jonathan Smoke of realtor.com®. “But that growth will be slower than what we’ve seen over the last three years.”

Those higher mortgage rates have already driven monthly mortgage payments up 7% since the presidential election, Smoke says. And those bigger bills are expected to make it harder for wannabe homeowners, particularly first-time buyers, to qualify for loans.

That’s in addition to the low inventory of available homes on the market that they need to contend with. In November, there were 12% fewer new and existing homes for sale on realtor.com than the same month a year earlier.

Still, the majority of households surveyed still believe now is a good time to buy a home, But fewer renters are getting the buying bug these days. That’s because housing prices are continuing to go up, making affordability an ever bigger challenge, says Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist.

“Younger households, renters, and those living in the costlier West region—where prices have soared in recent months—are the least optimistic about buying,” Yun said in a statement.

According to the survey, about three-quarters of current homeowners who are over 45, make more than $50,000 a year, and live in the Midwest or South were the most confident that now is the time to close on the homes of their dreams.

They are typically the most financially stable or live in the most affordable regions of the country.

But for everyone else, it’s not all doom and gloom. Lenders are beginning to make more loans to buyers with lower credit scores and down payments as well as higher debt-to-income ratios as a result of rising mortgage rates, says Smoke.

That’s because fewer homeowners are likely to refinance their mortgages now that rates have gone up. To make up for that loss in business, lenders have to issue more loans. And higher rates can net mortgage makers higher profits, he says.

“Lenders are getting more aggressive,” Smoke says. “Credit access already appears to be improving because of the rates.”

Have An Awesome Week!

THIS WEEK'S HOT HOME LISTING!

Lot 8 Vineyard Hill Dr

Price: $250,000    Beds: 0    Baths: 0    Lot Size: 5 acres

Spectacular setting in The Vineyards At Gimpl Hill. Five acres of level and rolling hills in the heart of wine country. Private gated community offers gorgeous valley and tree views. Only a 7 minute drive to town....View Property for Sale >>

AND HERE'S YOUR MONDAY MORNING COFFEE!!