Remote Work Has Changed Our Home Needs. Is It Time for Your Home To Change, Too?

Over the past year, many homeowners realized what they need in a home is changing, especially with the rise in remote work. If you’re longing for a dedicated home office or a change in scenery, now may be the time to find the home that addresses your evolving needs.

Working from Home Isn’t a Passing Fad

Before the pandemic, only 21% of individuals worked from home. However, if you’ve recently discovered remote work is your new normal, you’re not alone.

A survey of hiring managers conducted by Statista and Upwork projects 37.5% of U.S. workers will work remotely in some capacity over the next 5 years (see chart below):

Working from Home Gives You More Flexibility and More Options

If you fall in that category, working from home may provide you with opportunities you didn’t realize you had. The ongoing rise in remote work means a portion of the workforce no longer needs to be tied to a specific area for their job. Instead, it gives those workers more flexibility when it comes to where they can live.

If you’re one of the nearly 23% of workers who will remain 100% remote, you have the option to move to a lower cost-of-living area or to the location of your dreams. If you search for a home in a more affordable area, you’ll be able to get more house for your money, freeing up more options for your dedicated office space and more breathing room. You could also move to an area you’ve always dreamed of vacationing in – somewhere near the beach, the mountains, or simply an area that features better weather and community amenities. Without your job tying you to a specific location, you’re bound to find your ideal spot.

If you’re one of the almost 15% of individuals who will have a partially remote or hybrid schedule, relocating within your local area to a home that’s further away from your office could be a great choice. Since you won’t be going in to work every day, a slightly longer commute from a more suburban or rural area could be a worthy trade-off for a home with more features, space, or comforts. After all, if you’ll still be at home part-time, why not find a home that better suits your needs?

According to the latest Top Ten Issues Affecting Real Estate from The Counselors of Real Estate (CRE), many home buyers are already taking advantage of their newfound flexibility:

“. . . after years of apparent but variant trends towards urbanization, the pandemic universally caused a movement away from urban cores, particularly for those with higher incomes who could afford to move and for lower-income individuals seeking lower costs of living.”

Bottom Line

If you’ve found what you’re looking for in a home has changed due to remote work, it may be time to make a move. Let’s connect today to start prioritizing your home needs.

What’s Motivating People to Move Right Now?

This year, Americans are moving for a variety of reasons. The health crisis has genuinely reshaped our lifestyles and our needs. Spending so much more time in our current homes has driven many people to reconsider what homeownership means and what they find most valuable in their living spaces.

According to the 2020 Annual National Movers Study:

“For customers who cited COVID-19 as an influence on their move in 2020, the top reasons associated with COVID-19 were concerns for personal and family health and wellbeing (60%); desires to be closer to family (59%); 57% moved due to changes in employment status or work arrangement (including the ability to work remotely), and 53% desired a lifestyle change or improvement of quality of life.”

With a new perspective on homeownership, here are some reasons people are reconsidering where they live and making moves right now.

1. Working from Home

Remote work became the new norm, and for some, it’s persisting longer than initially expected. Many in the workforce today are discovering they don’t need to live near the office anymore, and they can get more for their money if they move a little further outside the city limits. Apartment List notes:

“The COVID pandemic has sparked a rebound in residential migration: survey data suggest that 16 percent of American workers moved between April 2020 and April 2021, up from 14 percent in 2019 and the first increase in migration in over a decade… One of the major drivers in this trend is remote work, which expanded greatly in response to COVID and will remain prevalent even after the pandemic wanes. No longer tethered to a physical job site, remote workers were 53 percent more likely to move this past year than on-site workers.”

If you’ve tried to convert your guest room or dining room into a home office with minimal success, it may be time to find a larger home. The reality is, your current house may not be optimally designed for this kind of space, making remote work very challenging.

2. Room for Fitness and Activities

Staying healthy and active is a top priority for many Americans, and dreams of having space for a home gym are growing stronger. A recent survey of 4,538 active adults from 122 countries noted the three fastest-growing fitness trends amongst active adults:

At-home fitness equipment (up 50%)
Personal trainers/nutritionists (up 48%)
Online fitness courses, classes, and subscriptions (up 17%)

Having room to maintain a healthy lifestyle at home – physically and mentally – may prompt you to consider a new place to live that includes space for at-home workouts, hobbies, and activities for your household.

3. Outdoor Space

Better Homes & Gardens recently released the outdoor living trends for this year, and three of them are:

Outdoor Kitchens: 60% of homeowners are looking to add outdoor kitchens.
Edible Garden: Millions of people began gardening during the pandemic . . . to supplement pantries with homegrown fruits, vegetables, and herbs.
Secluded Spaces: As outdoor activity increases, so does the need for privacy.

However, you may not currently have the space you need for these designated areas – inside or out.

Bottom Line

If you’re clamoring for more room to accommodate your changing needs, making a move may be your best bet, especially while you can take advantage of today’s low mortgage rates. It’s a great time to get more home for your money, just when you need it most.

Americans See Real Estate as a Better Investment Than Stocks or Gold

Last month, in a post on the Liberty Street Economics blog, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York noted that Americans believe buying a home is definitely or probably a better investment than buying stocks. Last week, a Gallup Poll reaffirmed those findings.

In an article on the current real estate market, Gallup reports:

“Gallup usually finds that Americans regard real estate as the best long-term investment among several options — seeing it as superior to stocks, gold, savings accounts, and bonds. This year, 41% choose real estate as the best investment, up from 35% a year ago, with stocks a distant second.”

Here’s the breakdown:

The article goes on to say:

“The 41% choosing real estate is the highest selecting any of the five investment options in the 11 years Gallup has asked this question.”

Is real estate really a secure investment right now?

Some question American confidence in real estate as an excellent long-term investment right now. They fear that the build-up in home values may be mirroring what happened right before the housing crash a little more than a decade ago. However, according to Merrill Lynch, J.P. Morgan, Morgan Stanley, and Goldman Sachs, the current real estate market is solid and sustainable.

As Morgan Stanley explains to their clients in a recent Thoughts on the Market podcast:

“Unlike 15 years ago, the euphoria in today’s home prices comes down to the simple logic of supply and demand. And we at Morgan Stanley conclude that this time the sector is on a sustainably, sturdy foundation . . . . This robust demand and highly challenged supply, along with tight mortgage lending standards, may continue to bode well for home prices. Higher interest rates and post-pandemic moves could likely slow the pace of appreciation, but the upward trajectory remains very much on course.”

Bottom Line

America’s belief in the long-term investment value of homeownership has been, is, and will always be, very strong.

4 Big Incentives for Homeowners to Sell Now

The housing market keeps sailing along. The only headwind that could take it off course is the lack of inventory for sale. The National Association of Realtors (NAR) reports 410,000 fewer single-family homes for sale this March than in March of 2020. The key to continued success in the residential housing market is for more listings to come on the market. However, many homeowners are concerned that selling their homes could be challenging for several reasons.

Recently, Homes.com released the findings of a survey that identified these concerns, as well as what it will take for homeowners to feel comfortable selling their houses. Here are the four major homeowner concerns and a quick explanation of what’s actually happening in today’s housing market.

Homeowners don’t know if they’ll be able to secure their next home before selling.

In negotiations, leverage is the power that one side may have to influence the other side while moving closer to their negotiating position. A party’s leverage is based on the ability to award benefits or eliminate costs on the other side.

In today’s market, buyers have compelling reasons to purchase a home now:

To own a home of their own
To buy before prices continue to appreciate
To secure a mortgage at a historically low rate, while they last

These buyer needs give the seller tremendous leverage. Most already realize this leverage enables the homeowner to sell at a reasonable price. However, this leverage may also be used to negotiate time to find their next home. The homeowner could sell their home to the buyer at today’s price, which will enable the purchaser to take advantage of current mortgage rates. In return, the buyer might lease the house back to the seller for a pre-determined length of time while the seller finds a new home or has one built.

This gives the buyer what they want while also providing the seller what they need. It’s a genuine win-win negotiation.

Homeowners don’t know if their current home will sell for the asking price or top market price.

This is the perfect time to maximize profits while selling a house. NAR just released a study showing that bidding wars are at an all-time high. The study reveals that when comparing the first quarter of last year to the first quarter of this year, the number of offers on homes for sale doubled from an average of 2.4 to 4.8 offers.

Whenever there’s a bidding war, the price of the item for sale escalates. Bloomberg recently reported:

“For the first time ever, the average U.S. home is selling for above its list price.”

If a seller is looking for a top-dollar sale, there’s no better time to sell than right now.

Homeowners don’t know if they will get an offer without their home requiring work or updates.

Again, leverage is the greatest strength a seller has in this market. Due to the lack of homes for sale, many buyers are more willing to take on home improvement projects themselves to get the home they’re after.

A recent post on whether or not to renovate before selling notes:

“It may be wise to let future homeowners remodel the bathroom or the kitchen to make design decisions that are best for their specific taste and lifestyle. As a seller, your dollars and time might be better spent working on small cosmetic updates, like refreshing some paint and power washing the exterior. Instead of over-investing in your home with upgrades that the buyers may change anyway, work with a real estate professional to determine the key projects that will maximize your listing, without overdoing it.”

If a seller is worried about doing work or updates on their home, they must realize that today’s historically low inventory likely renders these projects less critical to the sale of the house.

Homeowners don’t know if they can have a quick closing process.

When speed is essential, there are two points sellers should look at:

The time it takes to find a buyer for the home
The time it takes to close the transaction

In the latest Existing Home Sales Report, NAR explains:

“Properties typically remained on the market for 18 days in March, down from 20 days in February and from 29 days in March 2020. Eighty-three percent of the homes sold in March 2021 were on the market for less than a month.”

Eighteen days is fast, and it’s a new record. Here are the days the average house is on the market in each state:

Regarding the time it will take to close the transaction, all-cash sales accounted for 23% of all home purchase transactions in March. All-cash sales can usually be closed in thirty days.

If a mortgage is necessary, the most recent Origination Insight Report from Ellie Mae shows:

“Time to close all loans decreased in March. The average time to close a purchase fell to 51 days, down from 53 the month prior.”

If you’re looking for a quick closing process, there’s never been a market in which the two-step process (finding a buyer and closing the deal) has taken less time.

Bottom Line

Selling your house can be daunting, especially in a fast-paced market. However, the fact that we’re in such a strong sellers’ market clearly eliminates many common concerns. Let’s connect today so you can learn more about the opportunities for homeowners who are ready to sell.

Cracking the Spring Landscaping Code

Kevin Shirley, Associate Broker (DC), GRI, ASP, e-PRO

As the cold north winds blow and snow accumulates on the land, snuggle up with a hot cup of cocoa and a stack of seed catalogs. Take a mental break from the chill, dream of spring gardening and sun-blessed soil.

Frigid temperatures and frozen ground may keep you indoors. However, the cold winter months provide an excellent time to plan your spring landscaping activities. House and Home Magazine is a great place to be inspired as they offer a wealth of photos, landscape designs, and innovative ideas to turn your garden into the envy of the neighborhood.

Research and Planning

“Sprucing-up” your landscaping is one of the joys of spring, and planning is half the fun. “Gardening isn’t just good for the earth; it’s good for the soul.”

Do the research first. Like other “do-it-yourself” projects, it is prudent to plot a strategy for your spring landscaping in advance.
Draw a sketch of your yard to focus on areas that require attention.
Do you have a long-range design that you will break up into stages, or do you intend to hire a landscape professional to help you implement your plans?

When it’s too cold to work in the garden, nurseries and home and garden store employees have fewer customers. To attract business, merchants promote some great sales. Not only will you find terrific bargains on the tools and supplies you will need come spring, during the slow winter months, but staff also has time to answer questions and offer guidance; take advantage of their expertise.

Do you want to plant an organic vegetable garden or cultivate a lush, green lawn? Talk to neighbors and other property owners in the community who have beautiful landscaping you admire. Most gardeners are pleased by the compliment and are delighted to share their experience and helpful tips. Visiting with neighbors and seeking their advice is especially helpful if you have recently moved to the community and are not familiar with native plants, pests, or gardening challenges unique to the localized area. Joining a local gardening club can provide a wealth of information, an exchange of seeds or plants, as well as an opportunity to make new friends with similar interests.

Familiarize yourself with the challenges faced by gardeners in your geographic area as well as in your backyard. Common insects, birds, wildlife, or roaming domestic animals can wreak havoc and destroy all your hard work. Planning a defense is the best way to prevent a problem. When you have specific questions about weed control, soil amendment, or pest control, your local county extension office can provide the answers.

To enhance the curb appeal of your front yard, consider adding lighted flagstone walkways to add aesthetic appeal, security, and safety to your property and to create attractive and functional pathways to and from your shed, garden, or backyard oasis. If you plan significant improvements to your landscape, such as adding walkways, fencing, decking, a patio or gazebo, draw up plans now to source and price your materials. With a bit of pre-planning, you can save money and be ready to start the project as soon as the ground thaws.

Calendar and Climate

Get a “head start” on spring. As the days lengthen and spring draws near, it’s time to start floral and vegetable seedlings indoors. Plant seeds following package directions. Place seed flats in a sunny window or provide grow lights. Be familiar with the climate not just in your geographical area but your backyard. Avoid moving tender seedlings outdoors until all danger of frost has passed.

It is vital to add new plants, shrubs, and trees to the landscape at the appropriate time of year. New plants will thrive for years if planted at the time suggested by horticulturists for your area. Be sure to refer to United States Plant Hardiness Zones charts to determine if a particular flower, shrub, or tree will thrive in your area.

Go Native

When selecting new plants and trees to add to the landscape, it is wise to invest in native plants with proven adaptability to local climate and soil conditions. Although exotics may survive a few years, many will die when subjected to climate extremes such as a frigid winter or dry, hot summer. Native species also have the advantage of already adapting to insect pests or plant diseases prevalent in the region.

Maintenance and Clean-Up

Fierce north winds, snow, and ice accumulations can cause extensive damage over a long winter. Grab a broom and the hose and scrub mud and debris off the deck, patio, porch, driveway, sidewalks, and rain gutters. An excellent general “spring-cleaning” of all outdoor areas brings a fresh, bright look and improves the overall visual appearance of your property.

Remove fallen tree limbs and rake dead leaves and grasses from flowerbeds and garden plots. Once the mercury stays above the freezing mark, mulch and protective wrapping may be removed from shrubs and planting beds, allowing plants to unfurl and reach for the sun.

Recycle and Restore

If you are not presently practicing sustainable gardening methods, spring is a great time to start. Start a compost pile for organic yard waste to create a rich source of nutrient-rich mulch for gardens and flowerbeds.

Plan For Growth

When adding shrubs and trees to the landscape, plan for growth and locate new plants in locations that will allow for their full size at maturity. Avoid planting trees in an area where root growth could eventually damage structures, foundations, plumbing lines, and septic tanks, or tree height could interfere with overhead utility lines.

Add Instant Color

Add instant color to the landscape with container plantings of colorful annuals and herbs. An assortment of brightly colored pots and containers of various sizes make a bold statement when grouped in the garden or on the deck. Rosemary, thyme, chives, cilantro, basil, dill, and oregano lend themselves well to container plantings and can be moved inside when the weather turns cold in the fall.

Sunset Magazine provides a helpful list of 20 of the best perennials for garden color and easy care.
Attract birds, bees, and butterflies to the garden with fragrance and color. Marigolds, petunias, and geraniums are but a few of the dozens of colorful annuals available to brighten window boxes and borders.

Add vivid color to hanging baskets with trailing nasturtiums. The easy and fun-to-grow Nasturtium exhibits a breathtaking abundance of brilliant yellow, orange and red flowers. Both the flowers and vivid green leaves are edible and add color and crunch to salads.

Home Is Where the Heart Is [INFOGRAPHIC]

There’s no doubt about it: homeowners love their homes, and that feeling has become even more critical over the past year. The vast majority of homeowners say they’re emotionally attached to their home and that it has kept them safe during the COVID-19 pandemic. Owning a home provides a sense of safety, security, and accomplishment. Let’s connect to move your homeownership goals forward today.

93% of Americans Believe a Home Is a Better Investment Than Stocks

A recent Survey of Consumer Finances study released by the Federal Reserve reveals that homeowners’ net worth is forty times greater than that of renters. If you’re wondering if homeownership is a good investment, the study clearly answers that question, and the answer is yes.

Do Americans believe a home is a better investment than stocks?

In a post on the Liberty Street Economics blog, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York notes that 93.3% of Americans believe buying a home is definitely or probably a better investment than buying stocks.

Here’s how the results break down:

The survey also shows a wide range of reasons why Americans feel that way (respondents were able to pick more than one answer):

Bottom Line

The data show how strongly Americans believe in homeownership as an investment. That belief is warranted. The Liberty Street Economics blog put it best by saying:

“Housing represents the largest asset owned by most households and is a major means of wealth accumulation, particularly for the middle class.”

Multigenerational Housing Is Gaining Momentum

If your house is feeling a little cramped with the addition of adult children or aging parents, it might be time to consider a move-up into a multigenerational home that better suits your changing needs. With benefits that include a combined homebuying budget and shared caregiving duties, an increasing number of households are discovering the value of a multigenerational home. With such high demand for houses today, now is a great time to sell so you can upgrade to a multigenerational home that may better suit your evolving needs.

Homeownership Is Full of Financial Benefits

A Fannie Mae survey recently revealed some of the most highly-rated homeownership benefits, which continue to be key drivers in today’s power-packed housing market. Here are the top four financial benefits of owning a home according to consumer respondents:

88% – a better chance of saving for retirement
87% – the best investment plan
85% – the opportunity to be better off financially
85% – the opportunity to build up wealth

Additional financial advantages of homeownership included in the survey are having the best overall tax situation and living within your budget.

Does homeownership actually give you a better chance to build wealth?

No one can question a person’s unique feelings about the importance of homeownership. However, it’s fair to ask if the numbers justify homeownership as a financial asset.

Last fall, the Federal Reserve released the Survey of Consumer Finances, a report done every three years, with the latest edition covering through 2019. Their findings confirmed that homeownership is a clear financial benefit. The survey found that homeowners have forty times higher net worth than renters ($255,000 for homeowners compared to $6,300 for renters).

The difference in net worth between homeowners and renters has continued to grow. Here’s a graph showing the results of the last four Fed surveys:

According to CoreLogic, the above graph only includes data through 2019, but the equity held by homeowners grew by $26,300 over the last twelve months alone. That means the gap between homeowners’ and renters’ net worth has probably widened even further over the previous year.

Some might argue the difference in net worth may be due to homeowners typically having larger incomes than renters and, therefore, saving more money. However, a First American study shows homeowners have greater net worth than renters regardless of their income level. Here are the findings:

Others may think homeowners are older, and that’s why they have a greater net worth. However, a Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University report on homeowners and renters over the age of 65 reveals:

“The ability to build equity puts homeowners far ahead of renters in terms of household wealth…the median owner age 65 and over had home equity of $143,500 and net wealth of $319,200. By comparison, the net wealth of the same-age renter was just $6,700.”

Homeowners 65 and older have 47.6 times greater net worth than renters.

Bottom Line

The idea of homeownership as a direct way to build your net worth has met the test of time. Let’s connect if you’re ready to take steps toward becoming a homeowner.

Latest Jobs Report: What Does It Mean for You & the Housing Market?

Last Friday, the Bureau of Labor Statistics released a very encouraging jobs report. The economy gained 916,000 jobs in March – well above expert projections of 650,000 to 675,000. The unemployment rate fell again and is now at 6%.

What does this mean for you?

Our lives are deeply impacted by our nation’s economy. The better the economy is doing overall, the better most individuals will do as well. Here’s a look at what four experts told the Wall Street Journal after reviewing last week’s report.

**Michael Feroli, JPMorgan Chase:**

“The powerful tailwind of the reopening of economic activity appears to be gathering force; while the level of employment last month was still 8.4 million positions below that which prevailed before the pandemic, it is reasonable to expect that a majority of those lost jobs will be recouped in coming months.”

**Mike Fratantoni, Mortgage Bankers Association:**

“We fully expect that this pace of job gains will continue for months and anticipate that the unemployment rate, now at 6%, will be well below 5% by the end of the year.”

**Paul Ashworth, Capital Economics:**

“With the vaccination program likely to reach critical mass within the next couple of months and the next round of fiscal stimulus providing a big boost, there is finally real light at the end of the tunnel.”

**Jason Schenker, Prestige Economics:**

“People are getting back to work, and the vaccine isn’t just inoculating the population; it’s clearly inoculating the economy.”

What does this mean for residential real estate?

Today, the biggest challenge for homebuyers is the lack of homes currently for sale. With listing inventory down 52% from a year ago, bidding wars are skyrocketing. As a result, home prices are climbing.

One answer to this challenge is to build more homes to satisfy the demand. The latest jobs report gives hope for new housing construction, and therefore brings hope to buyers. Here’s what three industry economists said about the increase in construction jobs revealed in the report:

Lawrence Yun, Chief Economist, National Association of Realtors:

“Construction jobs boomed in March, one of the largest monthly gains ever. This raises the prospect for more home building and more inventory reaching the market in the upcoming months. The housing market has been hot with fast-rising home prices but has been constrained by a lack of supply. By hiring more workers and building more homes, home prices will move to a manageable level to give more Americans a shot at ownership.”

Odeta Kushi, Deputy Chief Economist, First American:

“Great jobs report for a housing market in an inventory crisis. Residential construction building jobs increased 3.9% from the pre-2020 recession peak in Feb. 2020. The construction industry remains a labor-intensive industry. We need more hammers at work to build more homes.”

Robert Dietz, Chief Economist, National Association of Home Builders:

“Good job numbers in March for residential construction. 37,000 gain from Feb to March. 3.03 million total employment for home builders and remodelers, and up 49,100 from Jan 2020.”

Bottom Line

An improving economy with a falling unemployment rate will benefit households across the country and the overall housing market.