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Low Inventory & High Demand are Shaping the Raleigh Real Estate Market

A two-story brick home with a green lawn and a red "for sale" sign out front.

It’s safe to say that the housing market in Raleigh, and the rest of the country, has all but recovered from the last housing crash. Home values are on a steady increase, while the number of foreclosures and distressed property sales are at an all-time low.

Additionally, economists and market experts predict that the market will continue to stay strong for the remainder of 2019! This is great news for homeowners, especially those looking to sell.

Here’s the Breakdown

Right now, the real estate market is considered strong and healthy for both buyers and sellers. According to economists at the National Association of Realtors®, the only factor that might affect the market is a lack of inventory.

It’s common for buyer demand to increase during the summer, one of the most popular times to buy a home in North Carolina. However, our current inventory levels cannot keep up with buyer demand.

Many predict that this discrepancy will cause home prices to rise further.

Why Now is a Great Time to Sell

Two professionals shaking hands.

Fewer sellers are wanting to deal with the stress and time of selling a home in Raleigh. However, if you’ve long been considering selling your home now is the time to act!

With demand so high in key cities like Raleigh, you stand to make an excellent return on your real estate investment. Chances are, if you list now, your home will sell quickly and for top dollar. In fact, it’s not uncommon to receive multiple offers on your property in a short amount of time!

Looking for a Sign to Sell?

This is it. Allow Linda Craft & Team REALTORS® to help you make the most of the current real estate market! With our resources, expertise, and local knowledge we can sell your home within your timeline and for the most amount of money possible.

Give us a call today to begin exploring all your Raleigh home-buying options!

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Less Time, More Money: The Benefits to Having an Agent Sell Your Home

A real estate agent showing a couple a home.

With steadily rising home prices and strong buyer demand in Raleigh, now is a great time to sell your home. If you’ve long been considering selling your home, the hot market conditions may even have you thinking about foregoing a professional agent to try and sell it on your own.

However, choosing to sell your home by yourself (otherwise known as For Sale By Owner or FSBO) has a lot of hidden pitfalls. The truth is, when you sell your home on your own you’re likely going to make less money and be using up a TON of your time.

Here’s why.

Selling a Home is Tough

Even in a market as seller-focused as ours, the mechanics of selling a home are still challenging to anyone without a lot of experience. Even if you’ve sold a home in the past with an agent, you likely weren’t seeing 100% of the things they did to sell your home.

The biggest challenge to selling a home? Negotiating. In order to sell your home for the best possible listing price, you have to be a highly skilled negotiator.

After all, you won’t just be negotiating with the buyer. In fact, here’s a list of everyone you may need to negotiate with to sell your home.

  • The buyer’s agent
  • The home inspection companies based on their findings
  • The buyer’s lender
  • The appraiser (if the value of your home is questioned)
  • The title company

Why Working with a Professional Agent is Worth It

Happy older couple standing in front of their home.

The right real estate agent will handle your home sale flawlessly—without letting you experience any of the stress or hard work typically associated with selling a home.

Additionally, your agent will be able to price your home competitively based on up-to-date market research, assist you in staging it and getting it ready to show, and handle all those home showings. Showing your home to potential buyers can be awkward when you’re the current occupant of the home. Plus, your real estate agent will have a lot of experience handling some of the tougher questions buyers typically pose during the home tour.

How Linda Craft & Team REALTORS® Makes All the Difference

Here at Linda Craft & Team REALTORS®, we have years of experience helping home sellers throughout the greater Raleigh area sell their properties for a tremendous profit.

We’ll take the burden of selling your home off of you completely. Depending on your plans, we can even provide you with an instant cash offer for your home.

Interested in learning more about our home-selling services? Please don’t hesitate to give us a call.

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A New Kind of Home Buyer: Tips for Marketing Your Home to Millennials

Millennials get a lot of flack, but they’re an important part of the real estate market. In fact, they make up the largest generational percentage of home buyers right now!

So, if you’re planning on selling your home soon, it’s important to keep the average millennial home buyer in mind. This generation is unlike any that’s come before it, and the way they buy everything (from laundry detergent to life insurance) is unique.

When it comes to catching the eye of the discerning millennial home buyer, here’s what you need to do:

Create a Strong Internet Presence

It goes without saying that millennials rely on the Internet for, well, everything. This isn’t unusual: the Internet makes every kind of shopping easier and more accessible.

As such, giving your home an effective online presence is key. It needs to be easy to find via the most popular home-buying networks, and it has to look great no matter the screen size. After all, more home buyers than ever before are using their smartphones to find their dream home.

Don’t Underestimate the Importance of Professional Listing Photos

A beautiful modern kitchen.

Because millennials rely on the Internet to search homes for sale, your home’s photos have to stand out in a big way. After all, with the right photographer even the smallest home can look like a palace.

So, don’t skimp on this expense! Great photos could be the difference between a home selling within hours, and a home languishing on the market for months.

Show How Your Home Will Improve their Lifestyle

Millennials are looking for homes that will improve their lifestyles and be close to wherever they need to be during the week. As you market your home online, be sure you’re highlighting both its features and location in your listing description.

Tell an exciting story of how much better their life will be once they buy your home! Craft your listing description to carefully touch on all the best parts of your home and its surroundings, and let buyers know exactly why they need to buy it.

Know What Millennials are Looking for in a Home

A pair of hands typing on a smart phone.

So, what are millennials looking for anyway? Market research finds that millennial buyers are attracted to affordable homes with eco-friendly and smart features. If your home has any green features or environmentally friendly add-ons, you’ll definitely want to highlight them.

In addition, if you’ve outfitted your home to accommodate any smart features that use technology—like a Nest thermostat or other Smart Home appliances—be sure to mention that in your listing description and social media promotion.

Use a Pro to Market Your Home

The easiest way to market your home to millennials? Work with a real estate specialist who understands this unique market—and how to best target real estate’s next generation of buyers.

Here at Linda Craft & Team REALTORS®, we have an in-depth understanding of the Raleigh real estate market. Allow us to market your home and sell it for top dollar within your timeline.

Give us a call today for more information about selling your home to millennials!

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The 3 Things You Need to Know About Today’s Real Estate Market

Depending on which news outlet you go to, you may hear some pretty contrasting takes on the current real estate market. Some say the market is going up, others say we’re headed towards a crash similar to the one in 2008.

Instead of relying on over-sensationalized media reports, we prefer to look at the data. Numbers don’t lie, and they’re a reliable way to see exactly how the market is behaving. We took a look at some reports from three top Chief Economists and want to share our findings with you.

A woman gesturing to a graph to show rising home sales.

Here are three things you should know about today’s real estate market, based on the data.

1. Low Interest Rates Make for Confident Buyers

The real estate market throughout the country is warming up as a result of low mortgage rates.

Mortgage rates are at an all-time low, and they haven’t risen significantly over the past few years. These low rates have caused consumer confidence to skyrocket, which has resulted in increased home purchases throughout the United States.

Both sales demand and inventory have steadily risen, which signals that the market is only going to get hotter!

2. Increasing Incomes = More Home Sales

Sold house sign in suburban setting. Focus on sign.

Early this year, existing homes sales increased by almost 12% between January and February.

Lawrence Yun, Chief Economist at the National Association of Realtors, said this in response to rising home sales, “A powerful combination of lower mortgage rates, more inventory, rising income and higher consumer confidence is driving the sales rebound.”

In fact, since August of 2018, the average hourly wage has increased steadily—suggesting that the economy is in an upswing.

3. Home Price Appreciation Has Slowed

Many are worried over the real estate market because of one crucial trend: home value appreciation has begun to slow. This means that home values are not increasing as drastically as they have in years past. But believe us when we say: this is a good thing.

This signals that the real estate market is returning to normal. It is not heavily tilted towards either buyers or sellers, but exists somewhere in the middle.

This makes now a great time to buy and sell your home—especially in a community as robust as Raleigh and the NC Triangle.

Navigate the Real Estate Market Like a Pro

Interested in buying or selling a home in the greater Raleigh area? Here at Linda Craft & Team REALTORS®, we have the local resources and market expertise to help you make a successful transaction in Raleigh. Give us a call today to learn more.

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Home Prices are Not Crashing, They’re Coming to a Soft Landing

Luxury two story stone home.

Over the last several years, home prices have increased substantially throughout the country. Many homeowners are worried that this means we’re headed towards another housing crash.

Luckily, that’s not the case. We’ve written about it at length, but the real estate market is not heading towards a crash. While it’s true that home values are not increasing as dramatically as they have in the past five years, they’re by no means crashing or even declining.

Here’s What’s Going On

It’s not that the average price of homes in the market are decreasing. Rather, the appreciation of home values is slowing down.

This is because the market is shifting from an advantageous sellers market, to a more “normal” market where the intense demand of homes is matched by its inventory. That doesn’t mean we’re headed towards a crash!

The real estate market is stronger than it’s ever been.

This is Different than the 2008 Crash

A woman looking at a tablet that has market information displayed.

The last real estate market crash was caused in large part to extremely lenient mortgage standards. This created an artificial demand for new homes.

When this demand faltered, a rush of homes hit the market. Many of these properties were in distress or suffering from foreclosure, so they were heavily discounted.

Plus, mortgage standards are much stricter today than they were in 2008. In addition, foreclosures today are lower than they have been since 1996.

Home Prices are Leveling Up

And that’s a good thing! It means the market is returning to “normal,” which is good for buyers and sellers.

Want to Learn More About the Greater Raleigh Real Estate Market?

Then it’s time to give Linda Craft & Team REALTORS® a call. We have the area expertise and the real estate resources you need to make a wise financial decision in this highly competitive market.

Please reach out to us today so we can get started on achieving all your real estate goals.

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Up Your Home’s Resale Value with These 5 Outdoor DIY Projects

Spring is here, and summer is closer than ever. That makes it a great time to get outside and spruce up your home’s exterior!

If you’re planning on selling your home soon, a little outdoor maintenance can go a long way. In fact, here are five outdoor projects you can do yourself that are sure to add resale value to your home.

Install a Fire Pit

Fire burning in a backyard fire pit.

Imagine spending a warm summer evening out back with your friends, sipping cool drinks and roasting marshmallows over an open fire. The truth is, installing a fire pit is easier than you might think!

A fire pit is made out of fireproof materials and should sit on a flat surface at least 15 feet away from your home and any trees. Here’s a how-to guide for building a backyard fire pit.

Remember, check your local building codes before beginning any type of construction!

Don’t have a yard for a fire pit? Turn your balcony into a cozy dining area instead!

Add Some Outdoor Lighting

Transform your backyard space for summer with lights that add both ambience and security. You can safely add low-voltage lighting to your front or backyard by yourself, even if you don’t have extensive electrical experience.

Whether you opt for motion-activated LED lights or hanging fairy lights, you have some great options to consider for your yard!

Have a nice back deck or balcony? Add some lights to make it a great place to gather any time, day or night.

Fix the Front Door

A front door with a key in the lock.

Your front door should be clean, bright, and welcoming! After all, it’s the first thing potential buyers will see when they enter your home.

There are a couple of different options to freshen up your front door. If it’s very old or damaged, you could replace it altogether. Other options for sprucing up your door include painting it a different color,touching up the paint job, or replacing the doorknob or knocker.

Live in a condo with an interior front door? You can still spruce up your entryway with a nice welcome mat and some potted flowers.

Power Wash the Exterior

Dirty siding on your home can make it look old and neglected, which can be a major turn-off for buyers! A simple solution to get your home’s exterior looking like new is to rent a power washer to take care of any dirt. We recommend renting a heavy-duty, gas-powered pressure washer, as these are the most efficient.

Depending on your home’s specific material (vinyl, stucco, brick, etc.), you will need to obtain a specific type of detergent to power wash your home. Be sure to opt for an environmentally friendly version!

Refresh Your Landscaping

The front exterior of a home that's been manicured with trimmed shrubs and flower beds.

Taking the time to properly maintain your landscaping—and adding a few new features here and there—can both increase your home’s resale value and attract more buyers. After all, real estate is all about the curb appeal!

Installing an attractive stone walkway, mulching your flowerbeds, planting new flowers or shrubbery, and planting trees are all great ways to improve your home’s landscaping.

Don’t have a yard? You can still spruce up your entryway and outdoor areas with potted flowers or hanging planters.

Looking for More Home-Selling Strategies?

Linda Craft & Team REALTORS® can help you increase your home’s value and get it sold fast.

Contact our team today to learn more.

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Working with Us, Versus the Competition, to Sell Your Raleigh Home

Selling a home is a complicated, and time-consuming process. When done correctly, however, it can transform your life for the better and help you build long-term wealth.

As such, we believe that it’s important to work with a certified expert to sell your home in the greater Raleigh area. That’s why we’d like to take a minute to show you the proven benefits to working with our team.

Our Experience Shines

White home entrance with luxury features.When you tally up the experience of every single person on our team, you get more than 350 years of direct experience selling homes in the Triangle.

Compare that to 50% of Triangle area agents with less than 5 years of experience.

Plus, our experience includes:

Negotiating

This is a big part of selling real estate! You have to know how to negotiate with the buyer for the best possible outcome. Our team has negotiated and closed over 10,000 real estate transactions.

According to the National Association of REALTORS®, the average Realtor sells about 6 houses per year.

Pricing

Our Exclusive Listing Partners specialize in pricing homes all day, every day. We specialize in focused expertise, which is why each of our listing specialists is able to close 20 times more homes than the average agent.

We list and sell over 100 homes each year, and have correctly priced and closed over $2 billion in real estate.

Handling Contracts

A stack of papers sitting on a desk that reads "Real Estate Purchase Agreement."It’s no secret that selling a home comes with a lot of paperwork. Luckily, at Linda Craft & Team REALTORS®, our 30+ years of experience handling more than 10,000 contracts in the Triangle gives us the expertise to help you with all the disclosures and paperwork necessary in today’s heavily regulated environment.

An In-Depth Understanding of Market Conditions

When it comes to any business decision, we firmly believe that knowledge is power. That’s why we aim to empower our clients with a pre-listing consultation in order to fully understand today’s market conditions and the best ways to succeed in the Raleigh real estate market. Over the past 30+ years, we have used our in-depth market expertise to help our clients win during the toughest times in history (think the Savings and Loan Crisis, the Dot Com Bust, and the devastating Mortgage Crisis of the 2000s).

In a good market we leverage all our past experience and knowledge to assure the best results for our clients. Our team wins when our clients win!

Here’s a Breakdown for You

Of all the advantages that come from working with our team, Linda Craft & Team REALTORS®:

  • Experience of over 30 years in this area
  • Proven track record of bringing their clients success with over 10,000 homes closed
  • Unsurpassed world wide marketing causing their listings to sell faster
  • Expert negotiations that net our sellers higher returns on one of their largest investments
  • Dedicated closing manager so no detail is missed that could cause closing delays
  • Free staging advice from a professional home stager
  • Professional photography and drone photography
  • Appraiser for accurate square footage and compliance
  • Free moving truck, notary service, and shredding service
  • Vacant home service by a trained and dedicated team member
  • Fix and Flip interest-free financing
  • When you choose Linda Craft & Team you are supporting a local, woman-owned business
  • Invitations to client appreciation events all year long
  • Referrals to home-care professionals offering discounts

Ready for Real Estate Success in the Triangle?

We’re ready to help. Give our team a call today to learn more about your options for selling your home for top dollar in the Greater Raleigh Area.

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A Quick Study Guide on What “Affordability” Means in Raleigh Real Estate

A calculator next to an outline of market trends.When we talk about “affordability,” a lot of definitions may come to mind. For real estate specifically, affordability is something of a hot topic.

While it is true that buying a home is less affordable today than it was at any other time in the past decade, that has a lot to do with the real estate market crash of 2008.

If you’ve been in the real estate game for a while, you probably remember the flood of distressed properties that hit the market at this time. Due to the poor state of the economy, foreclosed and short sale homes were going for a huge discount. This rush of distressed homes actually damaged the value of other homes within a neighborhood.

Lucky for everyone involved in the real estate industry, things have since changed!

The Market Has Changed Since Then

A woman holding a tablet and looking at how the market has shifted over the past 10 years.Over the past decade or so, the market has recovered and prices have gone up right along with it. This isn’t a bad thing! A strong economy is good for everybody, especially those trying to sell their home for what it’s worth in the Triangle.

As such, both home prices and mortgage rates have increased. To make the best possible decision in the Raleigh real estate market, it’s important to have plenty of resources to rely on.

So Mortgage Rates Have Shifted

An open door with a set of house keys hanging from the key hole.When most buyers think of a home’s “affordability” they’re picturing two things in particular: the listing price of the home and the mortgage rate they’ll have to pay.

According to a CoreLogic report written by Andrew Lepage in late January, the “typical mortgage payment is a good proxy for affordability because it shows the monthly amount that a borrower would have to qualify for to get a mortgage to buy the median-priced U.S. home…”

While mortgage rates are slowly increasing, they are nowhere near the gargantuan rates of the 2006 housing boom (think an average monthly payment of $1,275…)

By the end of 2019, experts have projected the typical monthly mortgage payment to be about $963.

What Does That Mean for Buyers and Sellers?

Whether you’re thinking of buying or selling a home in Raleigh, please know that this is one of the most advantageous times to invest in real estate!

At Linda Craft & Team REALTORS®, we have the market expertise necessary to help you make a highly valuable transaction in this area. Please give us a call today to learn more about your Raleigh real estate options.

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How to Make Your Raleigh Home Sale “Spark Joy”

Ask any homeowner what the most challenging part of selling a home is, and they’ll likely respond: decluttering.

Decluttering is a huge endeavor. It takes time, patience, good judgment, and stellar organizational skills. It also requires follow-through. Decluttering does you no good if your clutter sits in trash bags by the front door waiting to be donated.

Luckily, there’s a new and trendy way to declutter your home. It’s called the KonMari Method, and it’s changing lives!

Meet Marie Kondo

Small white table with a journal and two potted plants on top.The woman behind the KonMari method is a Japanese consultant and writer named Marie Kondo. Author of the book The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up that inspired a new Netflix show, Marie has some amazing tips for, well, tidying up.

Her philosophy is simple: “Keep only those things that speak to the heart, and discard items that no longer spark joy.”

Both her Netflix show and book are full of amazing tips for decluttering your home. If you’re getting ready to sell your home in Raleigh, we highly recommend checking them out!

The KonMari Method

Small bar cart with glasses of water and a plant on the top in a white hallway.Sort your possessions into categories, and start from there. Instead of going room by room, eliminate your clutter by category. Start with your clothes.

Pick up an item of clothing and take a long hard look at it. Does it spark joy? Does it make you feel happy, or remind you of a wonderful memory?

For the less sentimental of us, here’s an alternative way to look at it: when’s the last time you wore this? Try it on now: does wearing it make you happy? I you answered “no” to any of the previous questions, it’s time to get rid of it!

Marie Kondo advises us to “thank the item for its service, then let it go.”

Tidy Up Your Home Sale

Clean and bright kitchen.Marie Kondo’s method is time-consuming, but effective. Not only that, you’ll end the process feeling good about all of your belongings.

You’re increasing the amount of space in your home, decreasing your belongings, and making your upcoming home sale and relocation easier.

Now that’s something you should feel good about!

Sell Your Home for More in Raleigh

When you’re selling your home, first impressions are key! That’s why staging your home for the Raleigh market is essential. And, you can’t begin staging until your home is thoroughly decluttered.

By using the KonMari method, you’re ensuring that your new home will be filled only with items that spark joy.

If you’re ready to list your Raleigh home, please give us a call at Linda Craft & Team REALTORS®. We would love to utilize our area resources to help achieve a home sale that sparks joy in you!

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How Going “FSBO” Costs You More Money in the Long Run

If you’re selling your Raleigh home, chances are you’re trying to maximize your profits. It’s normal for homeowners to look for ways to sell their home for the most amount of money possible, while limiting all of their costs.

However, time and time again, I see new sellers opting to list their home as “FSBO” in order to save a few dollars. Listing your home as “FSBO” means going “For Sale By Owner,” or choosing to sell your home without hiring a real estate agent.

While listing as “FSBO” means not having to pay an agent’s commission, it has a lot of hidden costs and pitfalls and will actually cost you more money in the long run!

An Agent is a Professional in the Real Estate Industry

A professional reviewing graphs.Did you know that a home sold with an agent typically nets 6% more than one sold as “FSBO”?

That’s because an agent knows the real estate market really well—it’s their job after all! They’re an expert in their field, which means they know all the tips and tricks for selling homes.

In addition, it’s their job to stay on top of market trends, housing inventory, and sales prices. An agent knows how to price your home for the market you’re selling in.

Sure, you could rely on an automatic home value estimator to price your home, but those services are famous for being highly inaccurate.

All the “Hidden Work” Agents Do

If you’re choosing to sell your home without an agent, be prepared for a lot of work. After all, when you work with an agent to sell your home, you have them by your side to negotiate on your behalf.

As you sell your home, you’ll probably have to negotiate with:

  • The Buyer
  • The Buyer’s Agent
  • The Buyer’s Bank
  • The Appraiser
  • The Inspection Company
  • The Title Company

And an agent’s work doesn’t stop there! Your real estate agent is your guide to the world of real estate. They’ll be able to provide you with home-selling resources, advice on how to stage your home, an effective marketing strategy, and emotional support during a busy time.

Agents Know How to Reach Buyers

Two people sitting side by side on a couch, one is one a computer and the other is on a tablet.More than 50% of buyers find their home on the Internet. As such, if you’re going to sell your home you need to have a thorough online presence for your home.

A professional real estate agent is more likely to have a comprehensive Internet marketing strategy, as well as a top-tier website where buyers can search for homes.

Selling Your Raleigh Home? Let’s Talk

Here at Linda Craft & Team REALTORS®, we want you to make the most amount of money possible when you sell your home. That’s why we offer an array of complimentary home-selling resources, and a specialized marketing plan designed to give your property maximum exposure.

Don’t just take our word for it! Check out our home-selling track record, and see what our clients have to say. There’s a reason we’re the Triangle’s #1 real estate team: we sell homes quickly and for more money, and we’ll help you achieve all of your real estate goals.

Interested in learning more? Give us a call today to get started.