Every year the National Association of REALTORS conducts a survey of recent home buyers and sellers to gain insight on the home buying and selling process. Below are some highlights from this report about buyers last year.
- 33% of all home buyers were firstt time buyers and financed 94% of the purchase price.
- Buyers searched 10 weeks and looked at 9 homes before buying a home.
- The typical home purchased was 1850 sq. ft., 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, built in 1990.
- 93% of buyers found online websites their most useful source; photos and detailed information were an important factor.
- 89% of buyers purchased their home using a real estate agent.
- The top 3 factors influencing what buyers chose were: (1) quality of neighborhood, (2) convenience to job, and (3) overall affordability.
Sellers should be aware of how these buying traits might impact them. For example, a house located out in the boonies with 5 bedrooms and 3000 sq. ft. doesn’t target the typical buyer – which could mean longer time on market. Contact me if you’d like to know how these factors might impact you. 603-526-4116, www.DonnaForest.com, Donna@DonnaForest.com
Data from the NAR 2019 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers
Interested in home and condo sales in New Hampshire for the past year? To review the market data from New Hampshire REALTORS for 2019, click here 2019 Market Data from NHAR.pdf
“A place for everything and everything in its place.” No one is sure who first coined that proverb, but we’ve been trying to implement it since at least the late 18th century. Here are a few DIY storage ideas that may make life in the 21st century a little easier—or at least a little less cluttered.
Bedroom DIY Storage Ideas
For the price of a package of shower rings and a hanger, you could potentially free up an entire drawer if you slip the shower rings over the bottom rung of a hanger and use it to store your scarves. Mount it to the back of your closet door and your scarves will be accessible and won’t get wrinkled.
A wooden hanger can become an ideal storage device for jewelry, especially necklaces and dangly earrings. Just add eye screws at small, even intervals and hook them through the eye screws.
Under-bedstorage is always a great idea. While you can buy beds that come with drawers underneath, you can also create your own. Use shallow dresser drawers to which you’ve added wheels and you’ll be able to slide them under the bed. The wheels will make them easier to access when the summer turns to fall and you suddenly need to grab a sweater but aren’t yet ready to do the summer/winter clothing transfer. They’ll also make cleaning under the bed a lot easier, too.
Little wooden spice racks make both perfect displays and storage containers for perfume bottles, nail polish, or other cosmetics.
Bathroom DIY Storage Ideas
Unless you have one for every single family member, bathrooms can be storage nightmares. There are only four corners to a bathtub, and those corners fill up fast when everyone in the family likes to use a different kind of shampoo. Hang fruit baskets from your shower rod and store shampoos, conditioners, nailbrushes, loofahs, and body sponges in the baskets. They’re also a great place to store small bath toys.
Pedestal sinks have been in vogue for a while now, and for good reason: their clean,elegant lines make modern sinks the bathroom focal point and they introduce a feeling of space to what’s usually the smallest room in a house. That said,everyone who’s bought a house with one or replaced an old vanity with a pedestal sink has been faced with the dilemma of where to store their bathroom cleaning products. The solution may be to create a shallow, narrow cupboard between the joists in your bathroom walls. Maybe even two, one on either side of the sink.
A large wine rack mounted on a bathroom wall makes for ideal towel storage. You can build your own or buy one. Or you can mount a series of baskets to the wall and store towels, face cloths, and small appliances like hair dryers, curling irons, beard trimmers and electric razors in the baskets.
Don’t forget to use the space above your toilet and above your towel racks. Install floating shelves and use glass jars to store cotton swabs, facial wipes, makeup remover pads, hair elastics and bobby pins or hair clips.
Craft Room and Home Office Storage Ideas
An old muffin tin will fit nicely in even the shallowest desk drawer, and it automatically gives you a dozen small compartments to store paper clips, push pins, elastics, and USB drives. If the drawer is wide enough, add a kitchen cutlery tray and you’ve got storage for pens, markers, scissors, rolls of tape,and charger cords.
Revolving countertop spice racks with clear glass bottles are perfect for small craft supplies like pins, needles, buttons, beads, and sequins. If your craft room has a closet, take the door off and add more shelving. You can still use the curtain rod and pants or skirt hangers to hang folded fabric or scrapbooking supplies.
Pickup an old dresser at a flea market, paint it with chalk paint, and store crafting tools and supplies in the drawers. Dividers are always a good idea.You can buy them or make your own out of cardboard covered in wallpaper. Or you could invest in some more dollar store kitchen cutlery trays.
If your closet has a bifold door, don’t throw it out or store it in the garage.Mount it to the wall and buy some decorative hooks so you can hang scissors and other tools or rolls of ribbon from the hooks. There’s a reason those home workshop pegboards with tools outlined became so popular: they work. Not only can you see where your tools are at any given time, there’s also no doubt where they belong. Once you’ve analyzed the space available to you and the possessions you need to store, you’re well on your way to creating a place for everything. After that, keeping everything in its place will be a lot easier.
Source: www.bhgre.com/bhgrelife
If your New Year’s resolution is to buy a home this year, don’t be discouraged by the fact it is a sellers’ market. Below are some great tips to help you be prepared.
- Get pre-qualified for a loan; better yet get pre-approved. (Pre-approval requires submitting a loan application & necessary documentation)
- You could be competing with other buyers for the same house so be mentally prepared you may have to offer over asking.
- Don’t wait too long to make a decision – good homes sell quickly.
- Make a clean offer with as few contingencies and as large an earnest money deposit as possible. Be flexible with your closing date.
- Be ready to compromise on your needs vs. wants in a home.
By following these tips and remaining optimistic, 2020 may just be the year you become a new homeowner! Contact me and put my 26 years of experience to work for you. 603-526-4116; Donna@DonnaForest.com; www.DonnaForest.com
Teamwork from the Team that works –Better Homes & Gardens Real Estate - The Milestone Team
Based on numerous articles I’ve read recently, the housing market for 2020 will be déjà vu all over again! This past year we had limited supply, low interest rates, and high demand and not much is expected to change. In fact, the ARCH Mortgage Ins. Co. estimates 32 of the 50 states have a minimal probability of having lower home prices for the next 2 years (including NH). Core Logic predicts US home prices to increase 5.4% in the US and 7.1% in NH. There are several reasons for low inventory; more homes need to be built, the average homeowner is moving every 13 yrs. which is up from 8 yrs. in 2010, and a greater number of baby boomers are aging in place. The good news for buyers is mortgage rates are expected to remain low, around 3.8%. Bottom line, 2020 is expected to continue as a seller’s market with appreciation stronger at the lower price points. Whether buying or selling, contact me to find out how the market impacts you! 603-526-4116; www.DonnaForest.com; Donna@DonnaForest.com
When you’ve just moved into a new community, getting involved with your neighbors and neighborhood can be a great beginning to a happy life. Our communities can be pillars of support when we need them or friendly faces we’re happy to see each day. Through volunteering, joining clubs and groups, taking part in community sports activities and hosting events, you can bond with those who live around you and create a wonderful home for yourself – and others.
Here are 5 ways to get more involved in your community:
Many big cities and small towns have carnivals, holiday gift boutiques, formal dinners and similar charitable events to bring the community closer together. Attend these events and enjoy being a part of shared experiences. You’ll likely meet people who have many of the same interests as you do, which is a good way to form friendships.
- Attend or host charity events
Children often enjoy becoming members in Girl or Boy Scout-type groups, YMCA memberships, parks and recreation classes or mommy and me groups. Often, parents of kids in these programs go on to become friends for life. If you don’t have little ones, it’s still possible to coach, teach a craft, be a dance instructor and get involved in your community in other ways.
Families can get to know neighbors by becoming active in after-school programs. Even if you don’t have kids, meet new people in your neighborhood by volunteering your time to these activities.
- Get active in after-school programs
How can you help those who share your small part of the world? Perhaps tutoring, offering legal aid, mentoring, teaching a language, organizing a food bank or visiting the elderly in your community resonates with you. Children can often be persuaded to join the community volunteer force by teaching older adults all the ways of the Internet.
Volunteer in a local clinic, hospital, nature center, library or community center. Volunteerism is a superb way to meet people and contribute skills and talents to those who might need them. Not only will you probably experience a sense of accomplishment after sharing the gifts you have to offer, your neighbors will likely notice your contributions and consider you a valuable member of the community.
- Become a community volunteer
If you have a community center or other public space available, use it to form friendships while you learn something new. Sometimes taking turns meeting in members’ homes, either weekly or monthly, is a good way to break the ice with small talk or enjoy truly enriching conversation. Think about planning a series of special gatherings or ongoing drop-in events.
Learn more about the people who live near you by starting conversations within your community. This is easily done through book clubs or groups that come together to make jewelry, create art, cook and learn new languages. Ask your immediate neighbors if they know about any clubs or meetups you can join. If there aren’t any, start one yourself.
- Start conversations
While you till, water, plant and harvest, try to get to know the members of your community. Tell stories of where you came from and ask others about their backgrounds. If you have kids, get them involved with a beginner’s food scrap garden and encourage neighbors to bring their children to participate too.
Join a community garden in your neighborhood, and if you don’t have one, start one. Growing organic produce on a shared plot is a great way to connect with people near you. It also helps everyone involved develop a deeper understanding of the importance of keeping the air, water and ground clean and safe in a community.
- Join a community garden
The good thing about getting involved in your new community is that if there aren’t gardens, clubs, organized activities, volunteer opportunities or other programs in place for you to meet people, you can always be the facilitator of these types of gatherings. Your new neighbors will probably be glad you took the initiative to provide ways to connect.
Source: www.bhgre.com
Many sellers are tempted to take their homes off the market between Thanksgiving and New Year’s. They feel the market significantly slows down and that they have little chance of selling - so why disrupt their holidays? While the slowdown may be true to some degree, there are several advantages for keeping a house on the market during this time frame. First, buyers that are out looking are serious buyers and are ready to offer on something they like. In addition, there usually are fewer properties on the market this time of year so the competition is reduced. Plus the holidays offer a perfect time to dress up a home for prospective buyers. Sellers looking to sell should seriously consider keeping their homes on the market through the holidays – it may turn out to be their most wonderful time of the year!
If you are looking for an experienced REALTOR with the common sense to help sell your house in any season, then give me a call! 603-526-4116, www.DonnaForest.com, Donna@DonnaForest.com
Teamwork from the Team that works –Better Homes & Gardens Real Estate - The Milestone Team
This attractive, four bedroom colonial is privately set on two acres of land in Bradford, NH. It offers a spacious, welcoming layout with hardwood floors and stainless steel appliances. The master bedroom is on the second floor with ensuite bath. Two car garage, nice yard, and large deck across the entire length of the house to watch the wildlife. Offered at $324,900.
Emily Campbell, Listing Agent, 603-526-4116
While we are in the season of giving thanks, it serves as a good reminder why we should be thankful to be homeowners. It’s not just about having a roof over your head – a home provides shelter, wealth, stability & pride. Below are just some of the many financial and non-financial benefits.
- The average homeowner’s net worth is 44x greater than a renter’s. (Federal Reserve’s survey of Consumer Finances 2013-2016)
- Rent prices increase 3-4% annually. A fixed mortgage provides the stability of knowing your payments won’t go up.
- You can build home equity which can then later be used to start a business, pay college tuition, or help buy a vacation property.
- Homeowners tend to be more involved in their community.
- Home ownership provides a sense of accomplishment & control over your environment. This also impacts children as studies show they have less behavioral problems and perform better in school.
If owning a home is part of your American dream, then contact me to help you start the process! 603-526-4116; Donna@DonnaForest.com; www.DonnaForest.com
If you're looking for serene tranquility with gorgeous westerly views, this is the home for you! This Davis Frame home offers 3 bedrooms, 2 1/2 baths, open kitchen, dining and living areas and heated 3 bay garage with storage above. Welcoming screen porch, large deck and family room in walk-out lower level. All on 5.2 acres. You won't be disappointed! Offered at $479,000.
Emily Campbell, Listing Agent, 603-526-4116