Local Home Sales Increase 43% in February 2013
My most recent Harrisonburg & Rockingham County Real Estate Market Report has just been published (download it as a PDF here), and there is plenty of good news to be…
Will 30-year fixed mortgage interest rates fall below 3.5% again?
Lest I be accused of only talking about mortgage interest rates when they are falling.... As you'll see above, interest rates have generally been on the rise since the…
Consider title insurance when you buy your next home
As published in the February 2013 Shenandoah Valley Business Journal.... When you arrive at the settlement table, ready to close onthe purchase of your next home, you…
Home Sales, Contracts Strong in January 2013
The February 2013 Harrisonburg & Rockingham County Real Estate Market Report has been published, with these bits of encouraging news about our local housing market…
What Do Declining Inventory Levels Mean?
Two and a half years ago (June 2010) there were an astonishing 1,015 homes on the market in Harrisonburg and Rockingham County – including single family homes, townhomes…
It has been years (at least 5) since we have seen inventory levels this low!
Today (this morning) is likely the low-water mark for the number of houses on the market in Harrisonburg and Rockingham County. But even as some houses start to come back…
The annual cost to own a $250K home has dropped $780 since January thanks to low interest rates.
Another new record low -- average 30-year fixed mortgage interest rates are now hovering at 3.34%, a level never seen before! If you bought a $250K house in the first…
You had better lock in that mortgage interest rate, because they are headed up, oh wait, nevermind!
After some increase in the average mortgage interest rate between late July and late August, it looked like we were finally going to see mortgage interest rates start to…
How to find a great deal on an investment property
During the real estate boom, many people were trying to “get rich quick” by investing in real estate – and many people succeeded. Now that the market has cooled back…
Where have all the foreclosures gone?
I keep HarrisonburgForeclosures.com updated with scheduled Trustee Sales....and usually there are 15-20 scheduled in the future at any given point in time. Currently…
Both builders and buyers now prefer custom homes over spec homes
These definitions do not describe all possible situations, but they will give you a general idea of the two ways to go about buying/building a new home.... CUSTOM HOME: A…
Estimating your housing payment as a first time buyer
I often have conversations with people considering their first home purchase who want to first get an idea of how much they would have to pay for housing on a monthly…