• What’s Ahead for Home Prices? ,Team Stiles

    What’s Ahead for Home Prices?

    As the housing market cools in response to the dramatic rise in mortgage rates, home price appreciation is cooling as well. And if you’re following along with headlines in the media, you’re probably seeing a wide range of opinions calling for everything from falling home prices to ongoing appreciation. But what’s true? What’s most likely to happen moving forward? While opinions differ, the most likely outcome is we’ll fall somewhere in the middle of slight appreciation and slight depreciation. Here’s a look at the latest expert projections so you have the best information possible today. What the Experts Are Saying About Home Prices Next Year The graph below shows the most up-to-date forecasts from five experts in the housing industry. These are the experts that have most recently updated their projections based on current market trends: As the graph shows, the three blue bars represent experts calling for ongoing home price appreciation, just at a more moderate rate than recent years. The red bars on the graph are experts calling for home price depreciation. While there isn’t a clear consensus, if you take the average (shown in green) of all five of these forecasts, the most likely outcome is, nationally, home price appreciation will be fairly flat next year. What Does This Mean? Basically, experts are divided on what’s ahead for 2023. Home prices will likely depreciate slightly in some markets and will continue to gain ground in others. It all depends on the conditions in your local market, like how overheated that market was in recent years, current inventory levels, buyer demand, and more. The good news is home prices are expected to return to more normal levels of appreciation rather quickly. The latest forecast from Wells Fargo shows that, while they feel prices will fall in 2023, they think prices will recover and net positive in 2024. That forecast calls for 3.1% appreciation in 2024, which is a number much more in line with the long-term average of 4% annual appreciation. And the Home Price Expectation Survey (HPES) from Pulsenomics, a poll of over one hundred industry experts, also calls for ongoing appreciation of roughly 2.6 to 4% from 2024-2026. This goes to show, even if prices decline slightly next year, it’s not expected to be a lasting trend. As Jason Lewris, Co-Founder and Chief Data Officer for Parcl, says: “In the absence of trustworthy, up-to-date information, real estate decisions are increasingly being driven by fear, uncertainty, and doubt.” Don’t let fear or uncertainty change your plans. If you’re unsure about where prices are headed or how to make sense of what’s going on in today’s housing market, reach out to a local real estate professional for the guidance you need each step of the way. Bottom Line The housing market is shifting, and it’s a confusing place right now. The best way to navigate that shift is to lean on a trusted real estate professional to help you make confident and informed decisions about what’s happening in your market.

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  • How to Make Moving Out of State a Pleasant (and Not a Stressful) Experience,Alexis Hall

    How to Make Moving Out of State a Pleasant (and Not a Stressful) Experience

    If you're planning on moving out of state, it mostly will have been a decision you did not make lightly. After all, you'll probably have to adjust to a whole new way of living and do things completely out of your comfort zone. So if you've made the brave decision to move out of state, here are some tips from Team Stiles about how to make it a pleasure rather than a stressful experience. Research your new location   If you are planning on leaving miles away, and you can't make a trip there to see what it's actually like, then the next best step would be to look it up online and try and try and see what you can make of it from Google Maps, for example. Of course, there are also many other resources that you can use online to find out more about your new hometown, such as Walk Score or City-data.com, to get a clearer picture of what the neighborhoods are like, what the schools are like, what the job prospects are like, etc.   It’s also a good idea to investigate the overall housing market conditions in your prospective area. Depending on certain factors, it may not be the right time to buy. If a market is highly competitive, for example, you could end up paying more for a given property than you’d ideally like to. Finding a home to move to   This will most probably be the next crucial step in the planning process as far as moving out of state goes because you don't want to move from place to place unnecessarily. However, it probably won't be that easy if you choose locations from far away because looks can be deceiving, even online. Therefore, it may be better to enlist the help of a local real estate agency like Team Stiles who knows the area well enough to help you choose a suitable property for you and your family. Looking for a doctor   Moving to a new state can be challenging from a healthcare perspective if you are leaving behind a doctor you trust. But finding a new doctor doesn’t have to be difficult—it may be time to explore the benefits of online doctors. Meeting with a doctor online via a telemedicine platform is more convenient because you don’t have to waste time traveling and waiting in an office; you can meet from the privacy and comfort of home. And appointments can be made easily online. Also convenient is that should the need for medication arise, prescriptions can be sent to your local pharmacy. That’s both convenient and reassuring! Moving to Indiana   If you've decided that the Hoosier state is where your new home will be, you're in good company, as Indiana is a popular state to live in because it offers affordable living, and there are lots to do to keep the family entertained. Indiana has great weather, so there is plenty to do on this front if you are the outdoor type who enjoys keeping active and doing fun activities like hiking, rock climbing, boating, and golfing. Furthermore, with the cost of living that is lower than the national average according to Sperling’s Best Places, you're sure to find living here more affordable than in many other states in the US and is a great place to choose if you want to raise a family here as most of the activities are geared towards kids, teenagers, and parents included. Starting your own business and optimizing content marketing   Suppose you've decided to start your own business along with moving out of state because you feel like it's now or never to achieve your business dreams. There's no better place to start than by creating a thorough business plan to help guide you on your way forward and improve your chances of success. When drawing up your business plan, it is essential not to leave out any of the crucial details you may need to refer back to on occasion as your business grows from strength to strength.   For example, Nationwide notes that elements usually included in a business plan are what the structure of your business will be, how you will obtain the necessary funding in the start-up phase of your business, what your mission is, a description of the products or services that you are offering, and what your financial projections are going forward. Also included is a marketing strategy. A key element of this strategy is content marketing, which is meant to grow your business and your brand by piquing interest through blog posts, posts to social media, and content on your website. It’s beneficial to learn more about this specialized area of business promotion by visiting Cornerstone Content.   When it comes to business structures, you may want to consider an S Corporation. This is a special tax filing type available to LLCs and corporations. It offers pass-through taxation as well as liability limits. It isn’t a good idea for large corporations, however, as it places limits on ownership numbers.   As far as moving goes, moving out of state doesn’t have to be as stressful as many people assume it to be. What’s more, you can even make the moving process exciting and a real adventure for the whole family if you plan it correctly so that you’re as adequately prepared as possible for any surprises that may come your way. This includes launching your own business and using content marketing to get the word out.   Team Stiles is focused on selling in the Center Grove area but sell homes everywhere in the Indy Metro area. Team up with Team Stiles today by calling 317-883-9461!

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  • Perspective Matters When Selling Your House Today ,Team Stiles

    Perspective Matters When Selling Your House Today

    Does the latest news about the housing market have you questioning your plans to sell your house? If so, perspective is key. Here are some of the ways a trusted real estate professional can explain the shift that’s happening today and why it’s still a sellers’ market even during the cooldown. Fewer Homes for Sale than Pre-Pandemic While the supply of homes available for sale has increased this year compared to last, we’re still nowhere near what’s considered a balanced market. A recent article from Calculated Riskhelps put this year’s increased inventory into context (see graph below): It shows supply this year has surpassed 2021 levels by over 30%. But the further back you look, the more you’ll understand the big picture. Compared to 2020, we’re just barely above the level of inventory we saw then. And if you go all the way back to 2019, the last normal year in real estate, we’re roughly 40% below the housing supply we had at that time. Why does this matter to you? When inventory is low, there is still demand for your house because there just aren’t enough homes available for sale. Homes Are Still Selling Faster Than More Normal Years And while homes aren’t selling as quickly as they did a few months ago, the average number of days on the market is still well below pre-pandemic norms – in large part because inventory is so low. The graph below uses data from the Realtors’ Confidence Index by the National Association of Realtors (NAR) to illustrate this trend: As the graph shows, the pre-pandemic numbers (shown in blue) are higher than the numbers we saw during the pandemic (shown in green). That’s because the average days on the market started to decrease as homes sold at record pace during the pandemic. Most recently, due to the cooldown in the housing market, the average days on the market have started to tick back up slightly (shown in orange) but are still far below the pre-pandemic norm. What does this mean for you? While it may not be as fast as it was a couple of months ago, homes are still selling much faster than they did in more normal, pre-pandemic years. And if you price it right, your home could still go under contract quickly. Buyer Demand Has Moderated and Is Now in Line with More Typical Years Buyer demand has softened this year in response to rising mortgage rates. But again, perspective is key. Getting 3-5 offers like sellers did during the pandemic isn’t the norm. The graph below uses data from NAR going back to 2018 to help tell the story of this shift over time (see graph below): Prior to the pandemic, it was typical for homes sold to see roughly 2-2.5 offers (shown in blue). As the market heated up during the pandemic, the average number of offers skyrocketed as record-low mortgage rates drove up demand (shown in green). But most recently, the number of offers on homes sold today (shown in orange) has started to return to pre-pandemic levels as the market cools from the frenzy. What’s the takeaway for you? Buyer demand has moderated from the pandemic peak, but it hasn’t disappeared. The buyers are still out there, and if you price your house at current market value, you’ll still be able sell your house today. Bottom Line If you have questions about selling your house in today’s housing market, talk to a trusted real estate professional. An agent can help provide context around what’s happening now, so you’re up to date on what you can expect when you’re ready to move.

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