The most recent Pending Homes Sales Index from the National Association of Realtors revealed a slight bump in contracts with an increase of 1.6% in December. This news comes as existing home sales are also forecasted to be on pace for 5.54 million in 2017, a 1.7% increase over 2016, which was the best year for sales in a decade.

The Pending Home Sales Index is a leading indicator for the housing sector, based on pending sales of existing homes. A sale is listed as pending when the contract has been signed but the transaction has not closed.

According to NAR’s Chief Economist, Lawrence Yun,

“Pending sales bounded last month as enough buyers fended off rising mortgage rates and alarmingly low inventory levels to sign a contract.”

So,

Writing an offer is exciting and the first step to buying your new home. When you have reached this point in the process, the homework has all been completed, and it's time to get down to business. Start with a comprehensive data analysis of sold comparable properties.  Base your offer on real comparable data.  We know what is available now and this is the one.. What will you need to make the offer? 

1. Financing or Proof of Funds - Make sure everything is in line with how you will pay for the property and you have the funds accessible or a preapproval letter from a lender.
   
   
2. Be Prepared to Negotiate - My job is to get you the best deal as your buyer's agent.  This means they won't always take the first offer. Every situation is different and we

Tips for Preparing Your House For Sale

Highlights:

• When listing your house for sale your top goal will be to get the home sold for the best price possible!
• There are many small projects that you can do to ensure this happens!
• I have a list of specific suggestions for getting your house ready for market and a great resource for finding local contractors who can help!
• If you are thinking about putting your home on the market. Give me a call and we will get started. 423.366.2353

The latest Existing Home Sales Report from the National Association of Realtors (NAR) revealed a direct correlation between a lack of inventory and rising prices.

We are all familiar with the concept of supply and demand. As the demand for an item increases the supply of that same item goes down, driving prices up.

Year-over-year inventory levels have dropped each of the last 18 months, as inventory now stands at a 4.0-month supply, well below the 6.0-month supply needed for a ‘normal’ market.

The median price of homes sold in November (the latest data available) was $234,900, up 6.8% from last year and marking the 57th consecutive month with year-over-year gains.

NAR’s Chief Economist, Lawrence Yun had this to say:

"Existing housing