The biggest question in real estate in America today has nothing to do with property and everything to do with money. More accurately, the cost of money. The health of the property market is always precariously balanced by the direction of the money markets, the Federal Reserve’s prevailing view on inflation, and how it uses…
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As we approach the middle of the year, questions about performance of the real estate market nationally remain top of mind for most buyers and sellers. As an experienced real estate agent in your neighborhood, I have experienced this market uncertainty before, and I assure you it will pass. Many property market experts continue to…
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Even as the Reserve Bank of New Zealand retains interest rates at a stubbornly high 5.25%, the momentum of the real estate market is swinging towards the buyers. More than 40,000 homes are now for sale across New Zealand, an annual increase of 13.5%, according to the latest OneRoof-Valocity House Value Index. New listings for…
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There are a thousand questions to be asked when buying property, but one query dominates them all right now: when will interest rates come down? The current Official Cash Rate (OCR) is 5.5%, and the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) is giving little hint of when it will start making cuts that will boost…
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There are few things more emotionally distressing – to say nothing of financially difficult – than cleaning up a home after a flood. Finding badly damaged, much-loved items is particularly heart-breaking. Yet even the unprepared should take heart: while some damaged items will have to be thrown away, others can be restored. Clothes and linen…
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Home buyers who are parents of school-aged children, or who plan to be in the future, rightly consider school catchment zones important when purchasing a home. The general rule of thumb around these geographical areas is that parents wishing to enrol their children in a particular state or government school must live in this school’s…
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Amid all the fees and charges of a home loan comes stamp duty. Also called transfer duty, this one-off state and territory government tax levy applies to several everyday situations, such as vehicle registrations and insurance policies. However, stamp duty is most well known for its application to property purchases, including holiday homes, investment property…
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Settlement day can be a highly stressful, but exciting event, especially for first-home buyers. But preparation is key to a worry-free settlement day. What is settlement? Settlement day is the transfer of a property’s legal ownership from the seller, or vendor, to the buyer, and usually occurs around four to six weeks after property contracts…
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Property prices are powering ahead as buyers in the autumn selling season continue to display optimism ahead of predicted interest rate cuts in the second half of the year. In the first 12 weeks of 2024, prices have increased by 1.6%, according to the Home Value Index run by industry researcher CoreLogic. A rise of…
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Community concern about the state of the housing market in Australia has been highlighted by a recent poll of Guardian Australia readers. They expressed concern over rising prices, higher rents, the lack of new homes being built, and the absence of radical thinking to solve these problems. As an experienced agency in your area, the…
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