New properties are added daily to RealtyHive, but each month we publish a roundup of our favorite new properties and hottest deals. Check out the newest properties for December now available on RealtyHive!
New properties are added daily to RealtyHive, but each month we publish a roundup of our favorite new properties and hottest deals. Check out November’s newest properties now available on RealtyHive!
Think, for a moment, just how much your life has changed from January 1st of this year to today. For some, 2020 brought completely new working conditions as offices closed down and employees relocated to their home offices. Others took the opportunity to move back in with their parents and save some extra cash. Regardless of your particular situation, there’s no question that 2020 has had its fair share of curveballs—and nothing could be closer to the truth for first-time home buyers.
Purchasing your first home is intimidating enough under normal circumstances, and the current state of the world only makes the home buying process that much more complicated. While the underlying process has stayed the same, those shopping for homes must also contend with social distancing measures and fluctuating markets before they can even think about signing on the dotted line.
Whether you’re looking for a cheaper alternative to renting your city apartment or are just ready to settle into a more permanent living situation, here are four of the most important changes in the home buying process that you should keep in mind.
Virtual Tours
House tours have always been one of the most important steps in the process of shopping for a new home. A well-staged house and persuasive realtor can help even the most skeptical viewer envision the space as their new home, and for many, home tours are one of the largest deciding factors alongside a trusted home inspection.
So what happens when you aren’t able to meet in person for a house to tour your potential dream home? To help replicate the in-person experience, many realtors have turned to virtual home tour technology.
3D virtual tours take the online home buying process to another level and provide a much more immersive glimpse into the houses you’re considering—especially when compared to a simple photograph. That’s because virtual tours allow viewers to see every angle of the space, such as how each room flows into the next. Virtual tours also give first-time home buyers the opportunity to buy homes on the market that would otherwise be too far away to visit in-person.
That being said, there are a few important factors that first-time homebuyers should keep in mind when they are touring homes online. Asking your realtor to describe any distinct odors or loud sounds is a great idea, as these senses don’t translate well over a screen. And it’s always a good idea to tour the surrounding area to make sure that the home is in a neighborhood suitable for your lifestyle needs.
Home Size
More likely than not, the events of the past year have not only changed how you looked for homes but also what you look for in a home. Thanks to shelter-in-place and social distancing restrictions, many new homeowners are looking for new types of amenities that will help them live comfortably during and after quarantine.
Remote work has made designated home office spaces a must-have in the search for new homes, and houses with ample outdoor living areas—from screened-in decks to lavish patios—are some of the most competitive on the market. In general, homes that feature rooms dedicated to a specific activity, such as a media room or wine cellar, have also become much more popular over the past few months.
This makes it even more important to look for a home that not only accommodates your needs today but also well into the future. Investing in a more sizable home may come with a higher price tag, but it could save you time, money, and energy down the line if you can avoid moving after only a few years of occupancy. To make sure you aren’t overstepping your financial boundaries, you should calculate in advance the amount of house you can afford in your current situation. These resources help you navigate the delicate balance between increasing your square footage and minimizing the hit to your savings.
Competitive Markets
If you’re already shopping for your first home, you might be all too familiar with the dread that comes with losing your first choice home to someone with a better offer. The most competitive housing markets in the country include major metropolitan areas like New York City and San Francisco, but even smaller suburban neighborhoods are facing unprecedented levels of new home buyer interest as people look to escape the high costs and cramped quarters of city life.
An uptick in real estate interest means that you’ll have to prepare for houses to sell more quickly and for a higher number of offers to be on the table. The key to navigating a hot housing market is, therefore, to approach your search with an open, flexible mind. Looking into opportunities as they present themselves is a good mindset to ensure that you don’t get too discouraged should your search stretch into the foreseeable weeks or months.
In order to jump on new homes in your desired markets, you’ll consequently need to make sure that you have everything in order first. Being prepared is the key to moving through the homebuying process as quickly as possible, and first-time home shoppers who do not have their financial records, paycheck statements, and other personal information readily available are only lessening their chances.
Savings and Stability
Ask any financial advisor and they will tell you that savings are paramount within a personal finance portfolio. But a well-stocked savings account has only become more important when grappling with all of the challenges that 2020 has presented. Depending on the stability of your income, some experts recommend keeping as much as six month’s worth of expenses within grasp to keep you afloat during emergency situations.
Understanding how much you should have set aside in your savings is a critical step in vetting your personal finances before a first-home purchase in 2020. While a lack of established savings doesn’t inherently mean you should avoid shopping for your first house, it will make you much less prepared for any financial hiccups along the way—everything from closing costs to an unexpected HVAC replacement.
The same concept applies to your income, where having a stable, regular paycheck will prove invaluable in balancing the financial constraints of quarantining with the purchase of your first home. Not only will a volatile employment history make it harder to manage your monthly mortgage installments, but it may also impact the size and rate of your mortgage. Keeping your income in check is a key financial indicator that you’re ready for your first home, and it’s a habit you should take with you long after 2020 is over.
Conference season is upon us, ladies and gentlemen. From the Consumer Electronic Show (CES) in early January to South by Southwest in March, the early months of 2020 are filled with opportunities to learn and connect, regardless of which industry you’re in. While the educational and networking opportunities abound at these events, are they really worth the sometimes astronomical cost of attending? Here are some of the advantages to attending conferences.
Yes, we all know how important continuing education is, but let’s be honest, it tends to take a backseat to the day-to-day work. Sure, you’d love to learn about the latest trends in your industry and keep abreast of the newest technologies, but you’ve got clients to meet, staff meetings to attend, and a non-work life to uphold. By attending conference you’re able to pack all that learning into the span of a couple of days.
One of the biggest advantages to participating in a conference is that you get to meet and network with others in a face-to-face manner. While being introduced through email or being a member of a group on a social network is a great way to meet people in your industry when you’re not at an event, getting to meet in person is the best way to form a relationship. Whether you’re looking for new clients, partners, or even mentors, conferences offer the chance to identify and introduce yourself to these key players.
Sure, you keep tabs on your competition now. Maybe you do watch their social media accounts or monitor their keywords. But, events are a great way to really suss out what’s going on with your competitor. Are they unveiling a new product? Does their booth match the rest of their branding? What kinds of items or information are they giving out? You can learn a lot about a company by just stopping by their booth at an event like this.
You never know what you don’t know is a great thing to keep in mind at conferences. Regardless of your field, most conferences will pull in speakers who cover topics that you wouldn’t normally think to have looked into yourself. From workshops on marketing to seminars on legal implications to a roundtable discussion on ethics, these horizontally integrated sessions can provide a ton of value where you didn’t realize you were lacking.
Do you plan to go to any conferences this year? This year my team is attending many conventions for the real estate industry. Hope to see you there!
It seems like some agents have all the luck. We all know someone that seems to have a pipeline of dream properties and buyers clamoring hand-over-(money-filled) fist to sign themselves into a new home while you sit and watch your listings grow stale. How do these agents do it? While nothing can compare to a well connected network, having a “secret weapon” in your real estate tool kit is the secret of success in 2020.
So what’s the secret? How can you get and keep more listings in 2020? It’s not about completely changing your method or reinventing the wheel, but rather it’s about having something different to offer your clients– something your competition can’t or won’t offer. It’s no secret we live in a global and tech-connected world, but have you thought about how you can merge your real estate business into the digital world? Event marketing is one of the best ways to do this.
Similar to a traditional auction, event marketing starts with a property being offered for sale at an attractive opening price. This price appeals to buyers which creates competition and the deadline of an impending auction creates urgency, ultimately resulting in a higher sale price. In this model, the seller retains control of the final sales price and the transparency the process provides helps the seller see the true market value. For agents, this can help overcome objections to price reductions or avoid them altogether. Buyers benefit from being able to determine what their highest/best offer may be.
Between working on your “personal brand” via social media and networking or making sure that your advertising fit your “brand image”, 2017 was the year of “branding”. Designed to make you stand out from your competition, branding is great for marketing, but results are what really pay off. To extend your listings or to sign new ones in 2020, you’ll need to offer something to clients more results-oriented than industry buzzwords. Offering a solution or tactic that your competition does not will be the key to getting ahead this year.
RealtyHive Tip: Make a list of all the services you offer clients and potential clients. Everything from creating a BPO to the individual marketing channels you use for your properties. Now go through that list and cross out anything that your competition can do as well. If the remaining items are pretty thin, consider partnering with RealtyHive to have a true “differentiator” in your back pocket.
Woody Allen once said, “Eighty percent of success is showing up.” While he probably wasn’t talking about online property listings, he could have been! According to the National Association of Realtors, 51% of home buyers found the home they purchased online, but the average NAR member reports that their website only brings in 1% of their business. In a sea of online noise, do your listings stand out or do they just show up like everyone else’s? With the market as strong as it has been you should be selling upwards of 90% of the properties you list–the key is to position those listings for success and having a strong online presence is the way to do that.
RealtyHive Tip: Do you know what your website traffic looks like? What about your search rankings? Where is the traffic coming from? Are they real buyers or junk bot traffic? If your online traffic isn’t where you want it to be, you might consider joining the RealtyHive marketplace to create additional exposure and make all your listings have a unique marketing presence whether or not you utilize the event marketing platform.
With housing prices up, inventory down, and demand through the roof it’s fair to say that parts of the housing market are on fire! However, for every can-barely-get-it-listed-before-accepted-offer there’s a stuck-on-the-market-for-years property. From land to luxury, FSBO to commercial, every market has its own hard-to-sell niche. While most agents will run from this segment, you can stand out by confronting these challenges and land the listing by offering a new, exclusive solution.
RealtyHive Tip: Look at your market to discover where a need isn’t being met. Has a local department store sat vacant for years or has the same plot of land set vacant for as long as you can remember? These are indicators that tradition processes haven’t worked and you can use the RealtyHive Event Marketing platform as a never-tried-before solution to help land these listings.
Want to learn more about how event marketing can take your business to the next level in 2020? Check out realtyhive.com for more information or to schedule a meeting with a RealytHive representative. In less than 20 minutes you’ll learn how RealtyHive’s event marketing platform can help your listings reach a global audience, extend your listings and avoid price reductions–all at no cost to you!
From the hygge lifestyle to mindfulness practices, wellness is hot. What started with athleisure clothing, kombucha and yoga classes have come full circle to infiltrate every part of our lives. In 2020, we predict this trend will continue to take over our homes. Here are some of the coming trends in real estate wellness.
Home Gyms
Once a luxury, home gyms are becoming more and more popular. Traditional home gyms with large machines are being traded out for converted bonus rooms with a few, smaller pieces of equipment and the prevalence of online instructors means you don’t need to be a pro (or have a lot of space) to get a great workout.
Steam Showers and Saunas
Not only do steam showers help relieve stress, but they also relax muscles, release tension, and improve circulation. These encapsulated areas are meant to trap heat and moisture and bring the spa experience to your own home.
Indoor/Outdoor Areas
We already know fresh air and sunshine are great for us, but 2020 will be the year we start to bring the outside in by blurring the lines between indoor and outdoor areas. So, you can expect to see more retractable doors and windows that allow for more integration of living spaces.
At Home Retreats
Sometimes all you need is a change of scenery to change your attitude. Creating a personal retreat, be it a meditation room, outdoor hammock area, or a putting green, can be a great way to care for your mental well-being. There are lots of ways you can create your own personal at home retreat, just try whatever gets you into a relaxed frame of mind!
