Monthly report · No.1
TUESDAY, APRIL 23, 2024
Team News
The HoME Factor WELCOMES IT’S
NEWEST MEMBER
By Declan Spring
There’s something exciting happening at The Home Factor HQ at 2089 Rose St in Berkeley. The team is growing and we are extremely happy to announce the arrival of our newest team member, Ehsan Habib. Ehsan became a licensed Realtor in 2021 with the aim of using the skills he developed managing a small business, and working as a math teacher, to provide his clients with unparalleled service in Real Estate. Raised in the inner East Bay, Ehsan started his professional career as a teacher in Oakland. He later began working in the Oakland restaurant scene while he studied accounting, eventually helping to open Arthur Mac’s Tap and Snack. All the while, Ehsan’s family invested in East Bay Real Estate as a joint family venture. Ehsan leverages his deep knowledge of the East Bay, dedicated work ethic, and genuine commitment to his clients to provide them with the best representation possible.
Ehsan is not wasting any time and has already closed his first transaction with the team, and we congratulate him on assisting Oakland’s newest home owners on securing their first home! Ehsan looks forward to meeting you at our upcoming client appreciation event on May 18.
state of the market
supply imbalance
By Ehsan Habib
2024 inventory has increased from 2023 but we are still far away from a balanced market with an adequate housing supply. In the Inner East Bay we’ve seen a 21% increase in new listings between Q1 2023 (1,381) and Q1 2024 (1,666). However, in Q1 of 2022 we had 2,122 new listings – 27% more than we have this year. Despite the sizable increase in Year-over-Year (YoY) inventory, we have only seen a 6% increase in new contracts this quarter. Reach out anytime for further analysis to Ehsan@TheHomeFactor.com.
mortgage news
rate cuts?
By Evelyn Freitas | VP of Mortgage Lending at Guaranteed Rate NMLS 247578
As we begin the second quarter of 2024, change continues to sweep across the mortgage landscape. You may be wondering about the likelihood of rate cuts in the near future and how they might impact your journey to home ownership.
While the Federal Reserve is currently expected to implement one or two rate cuts later this year, it’s crucial to understand that mortgage rates are not solely driven by the Fed’s decisions. Instead, they are primarily determined by the dynamic mortgage-backed securities market, which shifts daily based on factors like economic indicators, inflation expectations, and investor sentiment.
What does all that mean for you? It means that waiting for potential rate cuts may not be the wisest strategy. Mortgage rates are unpredictable and can change rapidly. Instead of trying to time the market, it makes more sense to seize the opportunities available in the current rate environment. Higher interest rates can translate to advantages for buyers in the form of reduced competition and adjusted expectations on the part of sellers. When interest rates do come down, there will likely be fierce competition among buyers rushing into the market, leading to a jump in prices.
By taking action now, you can lock in a fixed rate and secure your home before prices rise further. Remember, buying a home is not just a financial transaction. It’s an investment in future wealth, and the only investment you can live in. As inflation continues to moderate, opportunities to lower your rate through a refinance may arise, and you’ll benefit from the additional home appreciation realized by buying sooner, as well as the enjoyment, autonomy, and security of living in your own home.
Work with a dedicated mortgage professional who is committed to helping you navigate the complexities of the mortgage process to find the best financing solutions for you in the short and long term. Do not let uncertainty hold you back from achieving your home ownership goals - by embracing the opportunities of today’s market, you can make them a reality.
Evelyn.Freitas@Rate.com
community events
excitement is high for the home factor’s first client event of 2024!
Team Feature
Recipients of this newsletter are cordially invited to attend The Home Factor’s first client/community event of 2024, taking place on Saturday, May 18 from 5PM to 7PM at our new head quarters at 2089 Rose St in Berkeley.
An exciting aspect of The Home Factor’s move to Keller Willams is our new office space, and we’re excited to host on Open House for you!
Real estate offices began to lose their sense of meaning and purpose about 15 years ago with the emergence of Zillow, when listing information went from being exclusive to real estate professionals to being available online, in the public domain. The 2020 COVID lockdown further exacerbated the real estate office identity crisis and now that listings, marketing materials, and sale documents are all handled digitally, neighborhood real estate offices sit vacant and without purpose most of the time. We’ve reinvented the neighborhood real estate office as a genuinely useful community space. We no longer think of our office as an office. We see it as an event space, a venue for the community. A place to feel welcomed, a place that supports community. Please come see for yourself! We’ll have a taco truck, drinks, and music and we look forward to hearing how the space can be useful to our community.
Please look for an evite to be delivered to your email inbox on Friday April 26!
Industry news
myths about the realtor® Settlement
Budge Huskey, courtesy of the Herald-Tribune
There’s a lot of misinformation in the media about the recent proposed changes to the real estate commission structure. In a series of articles over the coming year, and as the proposed changes come into effect in mid-July, we want to bust some myths, starting with: The settlement will serve to meaningfully lower prices and make homeownership affordable again.
False: Values in real estate are determined by supply and demand. Fees in a real estate transaction represent additional expenses, yet these include not only commissions but many other related charges. Should real estate commissions be reduced by 1% because of compression, that $500,000 home will now cost $495,000. Not only is the potential impact marginal at best, but do you think the seller now believes the home is worth less and will happily give the difference to the buyer? The reason home ownership is increasingly less affordable is that homes in our market have significantly risen in value these last few years.
The Home Factor • DRE#01398898 • Powered by Keller Willams • 2089 Rose St, Berkeley, CA 94709 • Declan@TheHomeFactor.com (415) 446-8591