How Much Do Mortgage Interest Rates Affect My House Payment?

There's been a lot of attention on mortgage interest rates and home affordability in the news lately.  Basically, without all the economics jargon and mumbo jumbo, the Fed is tapering bond buying.  Which means that there is not as much government money floating into the mortgage industry.

Mortgage interest rates have all ready risen 1% from the all time low, one year ago.  Analysts are expecting them to raise about another 1% by the end of this year!  The difference in home affordability and how it affects a new home buyer's house payment is best demonstrated with this picture.

Basically, with a one percent increase in interest rates, it decreases the affordability by ten percent.  For instance, if a buyer is considering a $200,000 home today at the current interest rates, that same house payment will be about $150 more per month and the affordability will be about $20,000 less with a one percent mortgage interest rate increase.  Make sense?  Said another way, a buyer prequalified at $200,000 today, will be able to afford a home at $180,000 when the interest rates go up 1%.

Many buyers who are on the fence, and waiting for the prices or rates to go down need to get off the fence, put bluntly.  Rates are not going to get lower than they were a year ago, and are not likely to get back to there.  Home prices have all ready started to rise and there are many markets that are low on inventory, making it a seller's market, rather than the buyer's market we're used to seeing.

For more information on the impact of mortgage interest rates on house payments, or homes for sale in the Jacksonville area, give me a call!  I'd love to help!

Horse Properties near Camp Lejeune!

For all of you equestrian enthusiasts who would love a great home and some land near Camp Lejeune, I've compiled a list of the best horse properties currently on the market!  Most of these homes are relatively close to area beaches as well!  

One home located at 501 PA Nobles Store Road in Deep Run, NC is situated on almost 30 acres.

               

The home features 4 bedrooms, a sun room, huge sweeping backporch for those Carolina evenings and tons of garage space!!  Listing courtesy of Jaime Dorn, Harrison Dorn Innovative Property Specialists.

For your personal tour of horse properties near Camp Lejeune, or in the southeastern North Carolina area, call me!  I'd love to view them with you! 

Nothing says southern charm and elegance like this custom built brick home on 15 acres at 265 Sewell Road, Jacksonville, NC  28540.  Located minutes to New River MCAS, Topsail Island and Stone Bay in Sneads Ferry, this personal retreat is close to everything.  The six stall horse barn features a sizeable tack room and wash bay, as well as separate quarters for weekend guests!  Attached to the barn is a full kitchen and media room for entertaining.  The paddocks and pastures have been designed for easy turn out and convenience.  There are stocked ponds on the grounds as well.  The home boasts over 3600 heated square feet of living space with four bedrooms and three full baths.  The gourmet kitchen is sure to please as well as an impressive media room.  This horse property is located approximately 15 miles to Camp Lejeune, making an easy commute to everything.  Not a detail has been overlooked in creating this perfect slice of Southern Comfort.  Listing courtesy of Lillian Wendricks, Century 21 Sweyer & Assoc.

                                             

265 Sewell Road, Jacksonville, NC is located in the Dixon High School district and very close to Hwy 17, which is perfect for quick highway access!

Whether you're an avid equestrian enthusiast or just want to horse around, call me- I'd love to give you a personal tour of these lovely horse properties for sale near Camp Lejeune!

New Construction Homes For Sale Near MCAS New River!

Jacksonville, NC is growing by leaps and bounds and the southwest area near MCAS New River has a lot of great homes for sale, to include foreclosures, resales and new construction!   Amanda Parmer, Realtor® with Keller Williams Realty is available to show you around the neighborhood, or provide more information about any of the homes that are for sale!

 Tall Pines at New River is situated two minutes to Marine Corps Air Station New River and features large homesites with natural vegetation and tree lined yards.  The developers of this community intended for the homes to be situated in a 'natural looking' community, instead of the cleared out, no character, subdivision.  Home builders, 70 West and H&H Homes are building new construction homes ranging in size from 1700 heated square feet and up!  

Standard features in these new construction homes include oversized cabinetry, designer lighting and granite countertops in the kitchen.  Design plans for these homes boast current trends and are similar to what is found in luxury homes.  There are many floorplans available to choose from and home buyers have the opportunity to choose which features they would like in their home and build it from the ground up, or choose a home that has all ready been built and is move in ready!

Tall Pines at New River is a perfect starter community with a luxury feel and price and only minutes to MCAS New River!  Call Amanda 910.545.0450, for your personal tour of this beautiful community, or for more information on any of the new construction homes, resales or foreclosure homes for sale!

Social Media Dos and Don'ts for Home Buying!

Everyone knows that there are dos and don'ts for home buying, but did you know that those dos and don'ts extend to social media??  Social media sites like Facebook and Twitter can do so much for people trying to find answers or stay in touch, but it can also help you blow a real estate deal!

Here's a quick list of how to use social media to your advantage when buying a home!

•DO:

~Let everyone in your network know that you're interested in buying a home!  They may know a friend of a friend that is selling and it just might work out!
~Visit the social media pages of your Realtor and mortgage professional.  
~"Like" their pages!  You might come across some rockstar tips and tricks throughout the process!
~Share positive news throughout the process!

•DON'T:
~Post how much you hate a house you saw.  That could come back to you and it won't be pretty!
~Bother with the Realtor & mortgage professional if they are 'hard selling' you on their page- you should enjoy the experience!
~Engage others who are sharing confidential or private information with others or badmouthing clients or other professionals.  There are two sides to every story and you just don't need the drama!
~Share too much information about the homes you're considering- it could weaken your negotiating position with the seller, or allow another buyer to swoop in with a better offer!
~Take advantage of the first 'good deal' you see.  You could be the one getting taken advantage of!

Home buying has become a 24/7 business with homes being marketed around the clock on hundreds of websites and through social media portals.  It's still important to get out and talk to a real person and physically see homes.  After all, if you spend your whole life online, what does it matter where you live?  Social media can definitely assist in the home buying process, just be careful that's not the only part!

Master Bedroom Downstairs is Growing as a Homebuyer Trend

Lately, more and more we're seeing homebuyers seeking homes with the master bedroom downstairs.  Reasons for this seem to vary, whether it's homebuyers increasing in age and don't want to deal with the hassle of stairs, or the size of families increasing, or just a personal preference.  

Homebuilders in the area are responding with gorgeous new construction homes featuring the master bedroom downstairs.  The Sonoma Floorplan by Wynn Construction is a perfect example.  This five bedroom home has three and a half baths, two story living room and tons of storage!  The 14'x18' master bedroom is privately located downstairs and features crown molding and a tray ceiling.  The roomy master bath features double vanities, large soaking tub and oversized shower and the huge walk in closet shows off Wynn's wooden shelving design!                                     

New construction homes aren't the only homes featuring the master bedroom downstairs, however.  196 Royal Bluff Road, Jacksonville, NC  28546, listed by William Sanders, Coldwell Banker Fountain Realty, is a custom home built in 2005 and located in the exclusive gated community of Williams Farm in Jacksonville, NC.  This well appointed home has over 5,000 heated square feet, two story foyer, hardwood flooring, crown molding and intricate trim work throughout.  The downstairs master bedroom measures 21'x25' and boasts hardwood floors, fireplace and patio!  The en suite bathroom is massive and features a two way gas fireplace in front of the oversized whirlpool tub!  Convenience and opulence was built into this home.

                             

Homebuyers searching for homes with the master bedroom downstairs have several options available to them, like new construction homes, custom homes or renovation projects to suit.  Here is a complete list of homes for sale in the Jacksonville, NC area with the master bedroom downstairs.  For a free consultation and to view these beautiful homes, contact Amanda!  910.545.0450

What's happening in Jacksonville, NC? Zing Zumm Science Frenzy! That's What!

What's happening in Jacksonville, NC?  Zing Zumm is happening!  With the growing need of a children's museum in Jacksonville, NC, Zing Zumm was created!

Zing Zumm® Children's Museum of Jacksonville is currently under development.  It will be a museum with and for children toddler age through 8 years old and will provide a safe and nurturing environment for children and families to spend time together and promote lifelong learning.  It is strictly a non-profit organization and is being funded through donations and fundraising efforts.

The Science Frenzy is one of these events to promote the museum and raise funds.  

Located at the Jacksonville Commons Recreation Center on Saturday, March 15, 2014, children will be able to learn- hands on- about gravity, watch things explode and build things!  "Like" Zing Zumm on Facebook to follow everything that's happening in Jacksonville, NC.

The good, bad and ugly of Zillow's "Zestimates!"

Every homeowner, person shopping for a home, or homeowner with a neighbor has probably scouted Zillow and has also seen a Zestimate of their home.  A Zestimate is just another opinion of value.  And you know what they say about opinions!

Zillow uses proprietary valuation models that identify relationships between home-related data and actual sale prices in geographic areas.  Data sources include physical attributes of homes, tax assessments, actual sale prices, foreclosures and tax sales, and user-submitted information.  Think about the word "data."  What comes to mind?  Perhaps some math problems, or numbers swirling together and bar graphs?  Zillow uses this kind of data, as well as user-submitted information and physical attributes of homes to determine a dollar amount determining a home's value.  

Surprisingly the national median error is only 8.7% and Zillow claims that nearly one third of estimates are within 5% of a home's sale price.  So, by the numbers:

There are 1,000 homes in a geographic market for sale, and the average sale price is $175,000, for example.

Zillow prices 333 of those within 5% of the home's sale price.  And within 5% of that average price those 333 homes could sell for $166,250 to $183,750. 

Almost a $20,000 difference in opinion of price.  That's quite a wide range.  

To competently determine a home's true market value, homeowners, as well as home buyers, need to consider days on market, sold prices and seller contributions, staging advice, and absorption rates.  Many REALTORS® understand how to report this data for their clients to give them a better idea of what their market is actually doing.  This is considered a comparable market analysis, or CMA.  The other determination of value one can receive is an appraisal.  

For a complete analysis of the Jacksonville, NC real estate market conditions, call or email Amanda!  Or check here for a market valuation of your home!  You can use this to compare with the Zestimate to monitor the difference!  Good, bad, or ugly!