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Long Distance Moves: What To Know
We often get asked: what moves are considered long distance moves? Long distance moves are any move that crosses a state line. They can also be called interstate moves.
If you are one of the millions of Americans seeking a life change by moving to a new state, Coldwell Banker’s Move Meter is an excellent resource to determine what state is a fit for you. Simply fill in where you live and where you are considering moving to and the Move Meter will use data to compare key factors such as taxes, schools, home prices and overall quality of life!
Once you decide on the new state you are moving to and are ready to move, here are the elements to be aware of and consider when moving long distance:
Factors that affect the price of long distance moves
- How far are you moving?
- When are you moving? Think of it like airplane tickets, the busier the time, the more expensive the ticket. Usually, moving companies are the busiest at the end of the month and in the summer.
- How much stuff are you moving?
- Will you pack yourself? Or, is the moving company packing for you?
Consolidated shipping
Instead of sending a giant semi truck across the state line with only your belongings onboard, check to see if your moving company can consolidate your long distance move with other clients’ shipments. This method of consolidated shipping allows everyone to receive the lowest rate for long distance moves.
If you need to move quickly, or have a large amount of items to move, you can always pay full price for an entire truck.
Delivery windows
Sometimes for long distance moves, moving companies give a delivery window and not an exact arrival date. They know conditions like weather and road closures can often slow down the moving truck. And, if your belongings are part of a consolidated shipment, it takes time for the movers to pick up and deliver other clients’ shipments along the way.
Accessorial charges
Does your move involve any extra circumstances like flights of stairs? An elevator? Will the truck have to park far from your front door? By the way, the moving lingo for “extra circumstances” is “accessorial charges”.
Storage
Will your belongings need to be in the moving company’s storage while you’re getting your new place ready?
Best money saving tip
The best way to truly save on the cost of your move is to choose a moving company based on their reputation. Make sure they have provided stellar service to their clients for years.
Top Reasons Homeowners are Selling Their Houses Right Now
Top Reasons Homeowners Are Selling Their Houses Right Now
Some people believe there’s a group of homeowners who may be reluctant to sell their houses because they don’t want to lose the historically low mortgage rate they have on their current home. You may even have the same hesitation if you’re thinking about selling your house.
Data shows 51% of homeowners have a mortgage rate under 4% as of April this year. And while it’s true mortgage rates are higher than that right now, there are other non-financial factors to consider when it comes to making a move. In other words, your mortgage rate is important, but you may have other things going on in your life that make a move essential, regardless of where rates are today. As Jessica Lautz, Vice President of Demographics and Behavioral Insights at the National Association of Realtors (NAR), explains:
“Home sellers have historically moved when something in their lives changed – a new baby, a marriage, a divorce or a new job. . . .”
So, if you’re thinking about selling your house, it may help to explore the other reasons homeowners are choosing to make a move today. The 2022 Summer Sellers Survey by realtor.com asked recent home sellers why they decided to sell. The visual below breaks down how those homeowners responded:
As the visual shows, an appetite for different features or the fact that their current home could no longer meet their needs topped the list for recent sellers. Additionally, remote work and whether or not they need a home office or are tied to a specific physical office location also factored in, as did the desire to live close to their loved ones.
The realtor.com survey summarizes the findings like this:
“The primary reason homeowners decided to sell in the last year was the realization that, after so much time spent at home, they wanted different features and amenities, such as walkability, outdoor space, pool, etc. . . . ”
If you, like the homeowners they surveyed, find yourself wanting features, space, or amenities your current home just can’t provide, it may be time to consider listing your house for sale.
Even with today’s mortgage rates, your lifestyle needs may be enough to motivate you to make a change. The best way to find out what’s right for you is to partner with a trusted real estate professional who can provide expert guidance and advice throughout the process. They can help walk you through your options, so you can make a confident decision based on what matters most to you and your loved ones.
Bottom Line
While the financial reasons for moving are important, there’s often far more to consider. Non-financial reasons can also be a significant motivating factor. If you need help weighing the pros and cons of selling your house, let’s connect today.
The True Strength of Homeowners Today
The real estate market is on just about everyone’s mind these days. That’s because the unsustainable market of the past two years is behind us, and the difference is being felt. The question now is, just how financially strong are homeowners throughout the country? Mortgage debt grew beyond 10 trillion dollars over the past year, and many called that a troubling sign when it happened for the first time in history.
Recently Odeta Kushi, Deputy Chief Economist at First American, answered that question when she said:
“U.S. households own $41 trillion in owner-occupied real estate, just over $12 trillion in debt, and the remaining ~$29 trillion in equity. The national “LTV” in Q2 2022 was 29.5%, the lowest since 1983.”
She continued on to say:
“Homeowners had an average of $320,000 in inflation-adjusted equity in their homes in Q2 2022, an all-time high.”
What Is LTV?
The term LTV refers to loan to value ratio. For more context, here’s how the Mortgage Reports defines it:
“Your ‘loan to value ratio’ (LTV) compares the size of your mortgage loan to the value of the home. For example: If your home is worth $200,000, and you have a mortgage for $180,000, your LTV ratio is 90% — because the loan makes up 90% of the total price.
You can also think about LTV in terms of your down payment. If you put 20% down, that means you’re borrowing 80% of the home’s value. So your LTV ratio is 80%.”
Why Is This Important?
This is yet another reason we won’t see the housing market crash. Home equity allows homeowners to be in control. For example, if someone did need to sell their home, they likely have the equity they need to be able to sell it and still put money in their pocket. This was not the case back in 2008, when many owed more on their homes than they were worth.
Bottom Line
Homeowners today have more financial strength than they have had since 1983. This is a combination of how homeowners have handled equity since the crash and rising home prices of the last two years. And this is yet another reason homeownership in any market makes sense.
10 Signs your real estate market is shifting
It is not unusual for real estate markets to change. It happens all the time. Quite often real estate markets stay the same for quite a while and then something happens that causes a shift.
Sometimes it is the general economy, other times it could be interest rates moving significantly up or down, and possibly the stock market changing drastically.
Your probably wondering what are the major signs that the real estate market is changing in your local area. All real estate is local so that is vital to understand.
It seems like everywhere you look, there are signs that the real estate market is shifting. Recently, there have been a lot of reports of buyers and sellers being in a “buyers market,” and this shift could mean big changes for those who are buying or selling.
Never take the national headlines as the gospel for your area. More times than not, the local market could be a bit different.
So, is it a buyer’s market or seller’s market? Maybe it is balanced? Let’s take a look at they ways you can tell.
Far Fewer Bidding Wars and Less Bidders in General
The last few years have been incredible for sellers. Most homes would have bidding wars with multiple bidders. It was not uncommon to have 10 or more bidders for a home.
When the market changes one of the first signs will be fewer bidding wars. Also when a bidding war does take place there will be fewer bidders.
There will also be fewer highest and best offers or escalation clauses in contracts.
There are Numerous Price Reductions
When it is a strong seller’s market, seeing many price reductions is highly unusual. Sellers are driving the market and often get more than the asking price. In fact, multiple offers and bidding wars are the norm not the exception.
Falling sales prices are a clear indicator that the seller’s market is losing steam. Buyers are no longer willing to stretch to get into a home. The comparable sales will often be based on a different market.
Some sellers lower their prices when they do not receive any offers at the initial listing price. A significant percentage of seller’s will price their homes based on a seller’s market mindset. Unfortunately, listing at a previous markets home prices leads to failure.
Sellers who come to realization that the market has changed will be quick to adjust and drop their price when no offer comes after a couple weeks.
The Number of Homes For Sale Rises
One of the defining factors of a seller’s market is low inventory of homes for sale. When the inventory levels start to rise substantially it is a good indicator the real estate market is shifting.
Supply and demand for housing is always a clear indicator of how the market is headed. Low inventory equals a seller’s market, and high inventory equals a buyers market. When inventory levels stay consistent with demand it could be classified as a balanced market.
You will often see a significant increase of for sale signs when moving from a seller’s market to a buyer’s market. Buyers will notice they have more to choose from when looking on popular real estate sites.
Homes Take Longer to Sell
In a hot seller’s market homes sell in an instant. It is not unusual for a home to be on the market less than a week. When a market transitions from a seller’s to buyer’s market, the days on market will go up significantly.
Even when real estate markets go from favoring sellers to being more balanced, the time on market will go up by quite a bit. Real Estate agents need to be proactive and set proper expectations with the seller clients.
Not doing so can lead to severe disappointment. A real estate agent should always be cognizant about over promising and under delivering.
It becomes especially important when markets are in flux. Buyers and sellers can have expectations based on what’s been going on in the past and not the present.
The Original List Price to Sale Price Ratio Will Drop
One of the statistics real estate agents often talk about is the list price to sale price ratio. In extreme seller’s markets it is not unusual for the list price to sale price ratio to be over one hundred percent.
With so many bidding wars taking place, homes sell over the asking price quite frequently. When bidding wars are removed from the equation there is nothing in place to motivate a buyer to pay for more than the list price.
As homes stay on the market, the list price to sale price ratio can drop even further. When sales prices start to drop, the ratios become more crucial.
Consumers will want their real estate agent to be giving them accurate listing prices, not something based on an old market that no longer exists.
Real Estate Contracts Will Contain More Contingencies
One of the defining factors associated with a robust seller’s market is a lack of contingencies in a buyer’s offer. When the market is strong, buyers will do everything possible to make their offer stand out from the competition.
One way of doing that will be eliminating common contingencies. Over the last few years it was not uncommon for a buyer to waive their home inspection contingency or even their financing!
In fact, many potential buyers would offer to pay cash to make their offer attractive to sellers. Most properties in an extreme seller’s market were sold as-is.
With a shift out of a seller’s market, many of the common contingencies will return to real estate contracts.
Far Fewer Cash Sales
When the real estate market favors buyers or is more balanced, it is much more rare to see cash offers. The vast majority of buyers will go back to getting a mortgage and having a contingency for it.
There is no need to offer cash when there are few other buyers doing so. Beating a cash buyer no longer becomes a concern.
More Back on Market Properties
In a hot seller’s market there are many buyers who will waive a home inspection. That is not the case in a buyer’s market or one that is more balanced. Home inspections will be conducted and buyers will be more apt to negotiate repairs, price reductions, or seller’s concessions.
There will also be more properties that come back on the market because a meeting of the minds could not be made.
More Offers With Home Sale Contingencies
When real estate markets favor sellers, buyers don’t even attempt to get a home sale contingency clause. When shifting out of a sellers market, some buyers will attempt to get a home sale contingency.
Even in balanced or buyer’s markets, they are looked at unfavorably with most sellers but buyers will try.
More Open Houses
One thing you will notice when the market favors sellers is that there are fewer open houses. Real Estate agents don’t need to participate in activities that are unnecessary.
The best kept secret in real estate is than open houses benefit real estate agents far more than home sellers. Real buyers always schedule showings with an agent.
When the market shifts, real estate agents will do open houses to show their clients they are “working at selling the home”. Even though A bunch of neighbors and the unqualified will show up.
Professional agents always explain the pros and cons of an open house. Agents who don’t are there for one thing – prospecting for business elsewhere.
Final Thoughts
It is vital for real estate agents to stay on top of the local real estate market. The best agents are advisors for their clients. Their fiduciary duty is to get the best terms and conditions.
Accomplishing that is very hard to do when bad or outdated advice is given. Nobody has a crystal ball but there will usually be some clear trends that are taking place.
