(Information and photo via Keller Williams)
Daylight Saving Time begins at 2:00am on Sunday, March 11th. Make sure to turn your clocks ahead one hour. It can also be a good idea to check the batteries on your smoke detectors this time of year. Follow our blog for additional monthly home maintenance hints in the greater Athens area!
(Information via Keller Williams)
(Information and graphics via Keller Williams)
Interested in what’s going on in your neighborhood in the Greater Athens area? Give us a call today, or submit a request for contact. We’d be happy to provide you with a custom home valuation guide and home sale or purchase plan.
February 2018 Market Update 
According to the National Association of REALTORS®, existing home sales slipped slightly in December. Looking at the entirety of 2017, a modest 1.1 percent increase was posted. While housing demand remains high in many parts of the country, the limited number of available homes for sale has significantly stunted overall growth.
Interest Rates 
According to Freddie Mac, 30-year fixed rates rose from 3.99 percent to 4.15 percent. This rate remains well below the historical average of 8.90 percent.
Home Sales 
The National Association of REALTORS® reported home sales at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of approximately 5.6 million homes during the month of December. This was a decrease of 3.6 percent from November and an increase of 1.1 percent from December of last year.
Home Prices 
The median home price decreased to $246,800 in December, which was down 0.2 percent from November and up 5.8 percent from December of last year. The median home price has increased by approximately $13,500 in the past year alone.
Inventory 
There was a 3.2-month supply of housing inventory in December, which was an 8.6 percent decrease from November. The total number of available homes for sale has decreased by 11.1 percent compared to December of last year.
Brought to you by KW Research. For additional graphs and details, please see the This Month in Real Estate PowerPoint Report.The opinions expressed in This Month in Real Estate are intended to supplement opinions on real estate expressed by local and national media, local real estate agents and other expert sources. You should not treat any opinion expressed on This Month in Real Estate as a specific inducement to make a particular investment or follow a particular strategy, but only as an expression of opinion. Keller Williams Realty, Inc., does not guarantee and is not responsible for the accuracy or completeness of information, and provides said information without warranties of any kind. All information presented herein is intended and should be used for educational purposes only. Nothing herein should be construed as investment advice. You should always conduct your own research and due diligence and obtain professional advice before making any investment decision. All investments involve some degree of risk. Keller Williams Realty, Inc., will not be liable for any loss or damage caused by your reliance on information contained in This Month in Real Estate.
Pet Insurance, Community Fundraisers and More
In this week’s segment of Team JWA’s Real Estate on the River, Brandon with Team JWA talks with Greg Simpson of Country Financial about pet insurance, upcoming community events and fundraisers, and more! Be sure to follow our JWA blog to be the first to see the next Real Estate on the River! Interested in purchasing your next dream home or ready to move? Submit a request for contact or give us a call today!
This week, Team JWA’s Brandon McEachern talks with K O’Dowd from TLE Worry Free Home Inspections about what to look for in home inspections in the greater Athens area, upcoming bike races, and more! Follow our Jennifer Westmoreland and Associates blog for future updates from the river!
Your Next Move in the Greater Athens Area(Information via Keller Williams)
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| 60 percent of homes sell during the summer months, making now the peak season for home showings. When you’re serious about selling your home for top dollar, these staging tips will help your home to stand out against the competition: | |
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| When you’re ready for your next move, call us to discuss other staging techniques that will attract the right buyers for your home. Or submit a request for contact today, and we can provide you with a customized home staging plan. |
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| Choosing the perfect home for you and your family is an extremely important decision. Online listings show you the basic details of a home, but how do you know whether or not it is a sound financial investment?
We go beyond the listing by analyzing historical sales, gathering detailed information on schools and local amenities, assessing trends in the local market, and studying economic conditions in order for you to make the best decision possible. Thank you for thinking of us for all of your real estate needs. Ready to explore in detail the availability of homes in the greater Athens area? Give us a call or submit a request for contact today! |
Five Ways to Update Your Space in the New Year
(Information and photo via Keller Williams)
When the ball drops on New Year’s Eve, we tend to start thinking of all the ways we want to overhaul our lives, but what about our houses? Here are five pieces of inspiration for updating your space in the new year. This may also give you some ideas in a new home that you may be reviewing.
| 1. Go bold. Paint an accent wall or a piece of furniture an of-the-moment, intense hue – like bright blue, fuchsia, kelly green or purple.
2. Embrace nature. Lacking a green thumb? Try succulents, which are some of the easiest plants to keep alive. Planters in natural materials like concrete and wood extend the organic feel. 3. Play with patterns. Geometric patterns continue to dominate décor designs. Integrate them into your space in a low-stakes way through patterned throw pillows or removable wallpaper. 4. Head toward the fringes. Textile trends are leading toward the tactile, with fringe popping up on everything from bedding to curtains to ottomans. 5. Gild it. Metallic accents make a room pop, and today’s tones can be mixed and layered, so consider trying brass serving trays with polished nickel cabinet pulls. |
Looking to buy, sell or invest in real estate? Let’s talk about it. Submit a request for contact or call me today to arrange a personalized consultation.
Information and photo via Keller Williams
You can keep your home in top shape with simple tasks throughout the year. This month, be sure to:
We’ve had several questions from customers recently about unconventional down payment funds, and wanted to share this information with you to potentially help you out! Interested in looking for your first home in the greater Athens area? Submit a request for contact or give us a call today! We’d be happy to walk you through the first time home buyer process and know what to plan on throughout the process!
Information and photo via Keller Williams
By Liz Dominguez 
Rising home prices are standing in the way of millennials who want to buy their first home; however, these challenges are being overcome via some unconventional methods. Millennials are getting creative and finding sources for their down payment by any means necessary. But are these methods hurting the millennial generation financially?
Borrowing from family: Sure, gifted money doesn’t sound bad. But what if the families don’t have the cash to give? Instead, buyers are asking that their parents’ home be refinanced, using the home equity as a way to fund their own home purchase.
Of course, this can be beneficial in multiple-offer situations to get a competitive edge with an all-cash offer, but borrowing from a relative can go south fast. Not being able to pay a bank back can have repercussions like lowering a credit score, but missed payments to a relative can damage familial relations. Is it worth the risk?
Crowdfunding: There are new crowdfunding platforms being introduced every year, and more of them are tapping into the real estate industry. This can be a great way to amass gifted money from friends and family, but not everyone may see it that way. Instead of crowdfunding for their honeymoon, newlyweds are asking their wedding guests to donate toward their first home.
This method can get complicated in the lending world. Buyers will need to look into gifting regulations before accepting any gifted money.
