After a year marked by climbing interest rates and falling home prices in 2023, 2024 turned out to be something of a bounce back year in the Peninsula real estate market. With inflation under control for most of the year, mortgage rates in turn remained mostly stable, coming down slightly from the 20+ year highs …
Prices Rebound, Interest Rates Stabilize in 2024 Read More »
For this year’s holiday card, we tapped into the biggest blockbuster of the year for inspiration, Inside Out 2! Unfortunately, there weren’t quite enough emotions to encompass our whole team, so our beloved Jorge was relegated to Mind Worker duty. Anyway, happy holidays, and we hope you can enjoy a quick chuckle at our expense.
Every November, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) reviews current conforming loan limits and decides on adjustments to make in the following year to reflect changes in the housing market. For the previous 8 years, this adjustment has been an increase in the conforming loan limit. Now, in anticipation of the FHFA’s official announcement regarding …
FHFA Expected to Increase Conforming Loan Limits 2025 Read More »
The real estate market in California is undergoing a significant transformation, primarily due to a 2024 lawsuit that has altered the way commissions are handled. In March, the National Association of Realtors changed its rules about real estate commissions, taking effect in August of this year. Previously, the overall listing commission included both listing agent …
With tax season almost over, no one wants to talk taxes. So let’s talk about a tax tool with power beyond taxes. Yes, it’s the fabled 1031 exchanges, also known as like-kind exchanges. To get the best perspectives, we chatted with our 1031 exchange expert, Ron Ricard. We work with Ron all the time in …
Going into 2023, with mortgage rates having already doubled from the year before, and continuing on an upward trajectory, there weren’t many industry experts making bullish predictions about the real estate market. Still, there was optimism that the year would at least see stability in home prices, if not the strong gains we had seen …
Experts Project Steady Price Gains Over Next 5 Years Read More »
In August, mortgage rates hit 7.23% — the highest rate in over 20 years. The Federal Reserve has been hiking their rates to combat inflation, which has been dropping of late. Will mortgage rates drop, too? Most housing market watchers seem to expect mortgage rates to decline over the next year. (See chart for rate …
Rates vs. Inflation: Should I Stay or Should I Go? Read More »
For this video, Celeste met with longtime friend of RealSmart, John Zialcita of Wells Fargo Home Mortgage. John shares a lot of useful information for home buyers, including details on a very exciting home loan program that Wells Fargo offers which allows borrowers to discount their interest rate by up to 0.75%, depending on the …
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