No Surprise Here; When Housing Inventories Drop, List Prices Rise In a growing number of housing markets, sellers are facing less competition now compared to a year ago. And, you guessed it, as sellers face less competition, prices begin to increase. While I’ve noticed this trend develop over the past year in most of the [...]
Have you heard? Buying is better than renting in 70% of America. I’m asked two questions all the time, “is this a good time to buy” and ”what kind of market is this, a buyers market or sellers market?” My answer is this, “it’s a good time to buy when the timing is right for you” and “the [...]
You may not remember that back in back in 2008 the conforming loan limit for single family homes was $417,000. This may not be something that you paid much attention to because Jumbo loans were needed for most home purchases in the bay area and the market offered plenty of options. Of course a lot [...]
Even though many lenders are still quoting quick 10 minute pre-qualifications over the phone or online, a true mortgage approval that holds any weight is one that has been issued by an underwriter who has had an opportunity to review all of the necessary documents. With a constant stream of new lending guidelines, volatile mortgage [...]
A Picture Graph is Worth a 1000 Words This is dedicated to those of you that enjoy seeing more visuals and less verbal explanation. I came across these charts related to current real estate and mortgage conditions. A brief explanation and links to each chart are provided below: Current Market Rates By ft [...]
Russ Boyd’s videos syndicated by One of the stories that found its way to the headlines recently was that the number of home sales may have been overstated for the past few years by the National Association of Realtors. As a Bay Area resident and homeowner, I’m not so sure that is headline worthy [...]
Russ Boyd’s videos syndicated by Every year, Remodeling Magazine publishes the Remodeling Cost vs Value Report. Click to view the 2010-2011 Bay Area Remodeling Cost vs Value Report or see all our reports under Quick Links on our website, www.aboutbayareahomes.com. The Report reflects an improvement over the previous two years of transition for the remodeling [...]
Free e-Waste Recycling event at Intero Real Estate San Mateo Did you know 2.5 million tons of e-Waste is created each year? 82% of it ends up in landfills unrecycled. Help us change this! Tell your family, friends, and co-workers to bring their e-Waste to Intero Real Estate on: Saturday, January 29, 2011 9:00 am [...]
Russ Boyd’s videos syndicated by The NEW RULES of Mortgage Loans and what it means to you The role of your mortgage lender is truly heightened as a result of all the new regulations you’ve been reading about over the past year. More than ever, you need to make the right decision on what lender [...]
It’s Tax Time and Time to Review the Tax Benefits of Homeownership
By Russ Boyd on March 31st, 2012
Tax Benefits of Home Ownership Owning a home can provide some significant advantages when it’s time to file your federal tax return. From green energy credits to deductions for damage from natural disasters, there are a number of items homeowners may be able to claim that could reduce a tax bill. Mortgage interest Most homeowners [...]