What Does the Fed’s Recent Rate Hike Mean for the Real Estate Market?

The Fed’s recent rate hike shouldn’t have any significant impact on our market. In fact, it might actually stimulate it.

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On June 14th, the Federal Reserve increased its federal funds interest rate by 0.25%. They’re also widely expected to raise rates once or twice more over the course of 2017. What does this mean for the real estate market? While any action by the Fed always garners a lot of attention, I believe these increases will not have any significant impact on our market. First of all, mortgage rates have actually trended lower in the wake of the Fed’s recent announcement. The 30-year mortgage rate recently hit 3.9%, the lowest level in 2017. In fact, it’s a common pattern for the mortgage rate and the Fed rate to move in opposite directions, and the same thing has happened the last two times the Fed raised rates. Second, the economy continues to do well. The Fed decided to increase its rate because unemployment and inflation are low, household spending is picking up, and we’ve seen steady growth for the past nine years. This is good news for the real estate market. As expected, we continue to see strong demand and a corresponding increase in home prices.

These increases will not have any significant impact on our market.

Third, while the Fed’s rate increase is normally meant to cool off the economy, it might actually stimulate it in this case. Because interest rates were so low for such a long period of time, experts believe the recent increases might ease pressure on the financial system and encourage lending. Case in point: since the Fed started raising its rate in December 2016, total mortgages are up 2.5% year over year. In conclusion, while any move by the Fed is likely to lead to a lot of hand-wringing, I believe the real estate market will not be affected and will continue on its own healthy course. Nonetheless, it’s clear that right now is a uniquely good moment for everyone in the real estate market. Today’s low mortgage rates are good for homebuyers because they make homes more affordable. If you have any questions about our market or you’re thinking of buying or selling a home, give me a call at 254-690-4321 or send me an email at Shine@ShineTeam.com. I’d love to help.

Killeen Market Report Stats for August 2016

Killeen’s market statistics are in for August 2016, and I’m happy to report that Killeen is still listed among the most affordable housing in the nation.

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Today I’d like to report the August 2016 market statistics for Killeen. All of our data comes directly from the Multiple Listing Service. Last month we focused only on the city of Parker Heights, and future reports will be from the other surrounding towns and cities.  

In August of this year, 185 homes sold in Killeen, which is an 11% increase over the same time last year. Of those homes, the average sales price was $123,400, with the typical home selling at 99% of the asking price.

Killeen has consistently been listed among the most affordable housing in the nation, and this year is no exception. The average days on market for August was 119 days, which is pretty similar to August of last year when the average days on market was 116.

Killeen is still among the most affordable places to live in the nation.

The average sales price in Killeen has dropped 1.7% since last year, from about $130,000 down to $127,600. The median sales price stayed almost the same, at about $200,000, and there was an 8.9% increase in total homes sold during these months, from 1,199 homes to 1,306. The average days on the market this past year was 123 days and 38% of sold homes sold the first 90 days as well.

VA financing remains the most popular form of financing, accounting for 56% of the loans taken out. Interestingly, 16% of those sales were cash transactions, which is very strong for this area.

So far this year, Killeen homes have continued to sell for about 98% of the asking price. I am also amazed to learn that 60% of these homes have sold with the first agent that they were listed with.

If you’re interested in stacking the odds in your favor by listing your home with an agent from the Jean Shine Team or you know somebody that is, feel free to give me a call or send me an email. We are already preparing homes for the coming winter and fall months and we’d be happy to help you!

Harker Heights Real Estate Market Update

The real estate market in Harker Heights is fantastic, and I have some MLS numbers to back that claim up.

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People ask me all the time, “How’s the market?” In Harker Heights, the market is absolutely, positively fantastic. Here are some numbers taken directly off the MLS:

In the month of August, the average days on market was 110 days. That’s a little bit longer than we like to see, but it’s still better than August 2015, where the average days on market was 129 days. Shaving off those 19 days saves a vacant homeowner about $1,000. There were 66 homes sold, which is an increase of 32% compared to August of last year. The average sales price was $204,525. The typical home sold at almost 99% of the asking price.

The year to date numbers are impressive.

The year to date numbers are equally impressive compared to last year. There was an 8.6% increase in the average sales price, rising from $189,668 to $206,058. There was a 9% increase in the median sales price, rising from $102,500 to $199,364. There was a 20% increase in total home sales, rising from 306 to 367. The average days on market dropped from 129 days to 118 days. This year, 40% of the homes that sold did so in the first 90 days. We also see that 9% of all sales were cash transactions, which is an increase of 77%.

Now, for a little bit of a humblebrag. So far in 2016, sellers that sold with the Shine Team averaged only 82 days on market. That’s 36 days better than our competition. Furthermore, only 62% of the homes that were listed for sale sold in Harker Heights, whereas the Shine Team sold over 81% of our listings. 

We’re already building our inventory for the fall, winter, and spring months, so if you or anybody you know wants to buy or sell a home, please give us a call, shoot us a text, or send us an email. We look forward to giving you positively fantastic service and great results!