About Shawnee's Grey Oaks

The New Trend in Fixed Rate Mortgages...the 15 Year Loan

How would you like an extra $125,000?

Last week, interest rates dropped to their lowest point in 2011. We saw fixed rates as low as 4.375% for 30 years, 4.25% for 20 years, and 3.75% for 15 years. We also saw adjustable rates as low as 2.875%! The current trend in fixed rate mortgages is to pay a little extra and get a 15 year loan instead of a 30 year. What's the advantage? Let's take a look:

If you have a 30 year mortgage of $200,000 at 5% interest, your payment would be $1,074 /mo (Principal & Interest only). If you refinanced that to (or start off with) a 15 year mortgage at 3.75%, your payment would be $1,454 /mo (P&I). For a difference of $380 /mo, you could pay your mortgage off in 15 years instead of 30 and build equity in your home much faster...an extra $21,593 in equity in just 3 years and $37,613 in 5 years. Not only that, but by paying off the loan in 15 years instead of 30, you would save $125,000!!

Sound intriguing? Give us a call or shoot us an email and we'll refer you to a Lender that will help you take advantage of today's low rates!!

The chart below is for the Grey Oaks subdivision in Western Shawnee. Keep in mind, that since this is still a community with new construction, there may be a few stats missing or skewed here and there, but overall, you can get a good idea what the market is like here:

If you live in Grey Oaks or are looking for homes in this area and have a question, please feel free to give us a call or send an email. We're here to help!

If you're thinking of listing your home, bookmark our blog and don't miss this series. Over the next few weeks, we'll introduce you to some statistics and tips to help you view your house not as your home, but as the future home of the buyer you need to attract. Our first topic was Pricing to Sell Your Home...this week, it's all about Curb Appeal. So here's the skinny!

KW Research shows that approximately 47% of sellers enhance their curb appeal. Most spend between $150-1000 to make those first few seconds count for buyers who may be driving by or checking out photos online. What do they do?

• 73% trim trees and bushes
• 54% mulch
• 51% bring in new plants
• 44% wash windows
• 40% power wash
• 23% add a fresh coat of exterior paint
• 11% add new door hardware

Now that school is out and summer is almost officially here, you'll start to see more and more homes pop up for sale. Unfortunately, not all sellers will know how to make the most of today's market. If you're thinking of listing your home, bookmark our blog and don't miss this series. Over the next few weeks, we'll introduce you to some statistics and tips to help you view your house not as your home, but as the future home of the buyer you need to attract. So let's get started!

Sellers can still get the highest possible list-to-sell ratio and sell their homes as quickly as possible if they are willing to put their trust in two time-tested principles of real estate: condition and price. These are the only two factors that sellers have control over, and they are the only two that buyers will care about the most.

Let's take a look at the top 10 pricing considerations first.

1. Buyer motivation - 75%
2. Condition of Home - 73%
3. School district - 66%
4. Updates/Upgrades - 62%
5. Seller motivation - 59%
6. Location - 59%
7. Features of home - 54%
8. Recently sold comps - 54%
9. Inventory - 44%
10. Price per square foot - 41%

As you can see, sellers have control over three: condition, updates, and price per square foot. And this is where your agent is key...work with them to establish the most competitive price. Here's why:

Based on Keller Williams Reasearch, 48% of Sellers priced their home according to their agent's interpretation of its market value. As a result, the listing:

• Sold after 56 days on the market compared to 105 and sold 49 days faster.
• Sold for 6.7 percentage points higher in the list-to-sell ratio. In other words, for a home listed at $200,000, that resulted in a list price-to-sell ratio of 96% vs. 89%. That's a difference of $13,400!
• Sold for at least 1 less price reduction

Price your house right the first time and save yourself time and money!