Whitney Minnich Real Estate and Community Updates

How to Save 20% to 40% on Your Kitchen Remodel Without Even Trying By Oliver Marks The average cost for an upscale  kitchen remodel  was a whopping $113,097 in 2014, according to “Remodeling” magazine’s annual “ Cost vs. Value Report .” Still, you can get the job done for less — much less — without forgoing anything on your wish list. Below are seven great recommendations for ways to shave costs off your kitchen remodel. Each recommendation includes a percentage of the savings you can expect to trim off the overall cost of your kitchen remodeling. Because of variables, such as the price of materials in your area, the percentages are given as a range. If you do all the recommendations, you’ll knock 20% to 40% off the cost of your project. 1. Skip the custom cabinet shop.  All of the major  cabinet  manufacturers offer a range of styles and finishes in their stock product lines. The only compromise you’ll make is that you can’t get cabinet widths sized to...

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A Slip in Rates Lifts Mortgage Demand DAILY REAL ESTATE NEWS | WEDNESDAY, JULY 08, 2015 Mortgage applications for both refinancings and home purchases gained ground last week, rising 4.6 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis, as interest rates took a slight dip, the Mortgage Bankers Association reports. Total mortgage application volume is 22 percent higher now than it was one year ago.  Refinance applications rose 3 percent last week over the previous week, while applications for home purchases saw the biggest spike, increasing 7 percent week-to-week. Applications for home purchases, viewed as a gauge of future home buying activity, are 32 percent higher now than a year ago, the MBA reports.  The MBA also reported that the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rate fell from 4.26 percent to 4.23 percent last week.  "Overall, trends in mortgage applications last week were consistent with the ongoing shift towards a purchase market accompanied by growth in emp...

Most homes are spending less than a month on the market. There are many factors you should look at when selling your house. If you've been thinking about selling, contact me at 571-970-7195 or whitney@whitneyminnich.com, to learn about what you can do to sell your home quickly. More Home Owners Warm Up to Idea of Selling DAILY REAL ESTATE NEWS | WEDNESDAY, JULY 08, 2015 Home owners are becoming more upbeat about potentially selling their home, which should bode well for purchase activity this year, according to Fannie Mae’s June 2015 National Housing Survey, a survey of 1,000 Americans about their attitudes toward housing. Thanks to increased job and income growth, more consumers are viewing the current selling climate more optimistically, which could help reverse the low inventory.  The share of Americans surveyed who say now is a good time to sell reached a new survey high in June, increasing three percentage points to 52 percent. It’s the first time the metric had cr...

What 6.5 Million Borrowers May Be Missing DAILY REAL ESTATE NEWS | TUESDAY, JULY 07, 2015 About 6.5 million borrowers could likely qualify for and benefit from a traditional refinancing or the HARP program, according to a new report released from the Black Knight Financial Services Inc. About 3 million borrowers alone could save at least $200 a month via traditional refinances. About 500,000 borrowers stand to save $500 or more per month, the report shows.  "By looking at current interest rates on existing 30-year mortgages and applying broad-based underwriting criteria, we found that approximately 6.1 million borrowers make good candidates for traditional refinancing," says Ben Graboske, senior vice president of Black Knight's data and analytics. "An additional 450,000 meet HARP-eligibility guidelines. All told, in the aggregate we're looking at about $1.5 billion that American home owners could be saving every month through a traditional refinance. ...

Most homes are spending less than a month on the market. There are many factors you should look at when selling your house. If you've been thinking about selling, contact me at 571-970-7195 or whitney@whitneyminnich.com, to learn about what you can do to sell your home quickly. 45% of Homes Sold in Less Than a Month DAILY REAL ESTATE NEWS | MONDAY, JUNE 29, 2015 Homes are spending less time on the market. Forty-five percent of homes sold in May were on the market for less than a month, according to the National Association of REALTORS®. On average, properties in May stayed on the market for 40 days. While that is up from 39 days in April, it still marks the third shortest time since NAR began tracking days on the  market in May 2011.  NAR's REALTORS® Confidence Index Survey showed that properties were selling in some of the shortest times -- within 30 days -- in Colorado, the District of Columbia, California, Texas, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, North Dakota, Kansas, ...

Amenities That Jack Up Sales Prices DAILY REAL ESTATE NEWS | WEDNESDAY, JULY 01, 2015 Americans will dig deeper in their pockets and shell out more cash to live near top-notch schools and in safer neighborhoods with access to retail and "artificial amenities," according to a new study published in the Journal of Urban Economics. In analyzing 2,000 neighborhoods across the country, researchers found that home buyers are willing to potentially spend thousands of extra dollars for these amenities. A regional funding increase of $1,000 per student in schools is associated with a $570 annual increase in what people are willing to pay for a home in the neighborhood, though "this number is likely biased from well-funded areas being nicer or having more desirable residents," researchers note.  However, unsafe neighborhoods will bring in much lower offers from buyers. A 10-point increase in the murder rate — from 10 to 20 deaths per 100,000 residents annually — i...

I love working with first time home buyers! If you've been thinking about purchasing a home contact me, 571-970-7195 or whitney@whitneyminnich.com, to learn about the home buying process and what you can do now to position yourself as a strong buyer when you're ready to make an offer on a home. NAR: 'Buyers Are Coming Back In Force' DAILY REAL ESTATE NEWS | THURSDAY, JULY 02, 2015 Home buyer demand is strong, recent sales reports have confirmed. Existing-home sales in May soared to the highest mark since 2009 as new-home sales climbed to a seven-year high. What's more, the demand is likely to stay strong: Pending contracts to buy existing homes reached a nine-year high while housing permits -- signs of future building -- also surged to a nine-year high.  "Buyers are coming back in force," writes Lawrence Yun, chief economist of the National Association of REALTORS®, at NAR's Economists' Outlook blog. "One factor for the re...

The Most Common Remodeling Mistakes The weekend is when most people work on projects around their house. If you're planning on starting a project this weekend or in the near future, check out this list of the biggest and most common remodeling mistakes. Source:  Fixr contractors

Millennials Prefer Single-Family Homes Too DAILY REAL ESTATE NEWS | MONDAY, JULY 06, 2015 A growing body of research is discrediting what was previously assumed about millennials' taste for real estate. Many housing analysts said this generation of young adults preferred small, urban walkable corridors, but recent studies are revealing a different preference.  Millennials, just like previous generations, are showing a strong preference for single-family homes, according to a new Housing Insights report released by Fannie Mae's Economic & Strategic Research Group.  Researchers examined the rates at which young households are occupying single-family homes today and also compared it to young adults' preferences prior to the housing crash.  "The analysis reveals that the likelihood of a millennial household occupying a single-family home today is down somewhat from that of young adults at the peak of the housing boom, but is no different than it was for...

Droughts Spur Landscape Remodels DAILY REAL ESTATE NEWS | THURSDAY, JULY 02, 2015 Recent home purchases are triggering major landscape projects, according to the  2015 Houzz Landscaping & Garden Trends report . This survey analyzed 1,600 home owners who completed an outdoor project in the past 12 months, or are currently working on one, or are planning a project in the future. More than half of home owners who are updating their yards say they're doing it to solve drought or flooding issues. Thirty-six percent of home owners surveyed say they're reducing their existing lawn, while 16 percent are removing them altogether. In drought-ravaged California, 46 percent of home owners there said they are substituting their existing lawn for a synthetic one -- twice as likely as anywhere else, according to the survey.  "In light of water-related challenges across much of the country, home owners are embarking on projects to tackle a lack of or excess water in the lo...

In Kitchens, the Design May Trump Cooking By Melissa Dittmann Tracey, REALTOR® Magazine Home owners continue to invest in their kitchens but cooking appears to be coming in secondary to the design of the space, according to the latest  American Institute of Architects’ Home Design Trends Survey  which focused on kitchen and bath design trends. “The major point of emphasis in kitchen design nowadays revolves less around actual cooking activities,” says AIA Chief Economist Kermit Baker. ”Rather, home owners are looking for kitchens that are gathering spots for family and entertaining, as well as serving as a hub for electronic devices and recharging stations.” Many of the architect respondents surveyed by AIA noted the revival of kitchen as the “hearth” of the home in the traditional sense: for family gathering, for entertaining, and for daily activities. Indeed, the kitchen has become the “activator” – the main space in a residence and a center of operations in a ...

Nothing ruins your garden or yard like weeds, those uninvited guests that rob your plants of space and nutrients. So murder those weeds most foul, but without harmful chemicals that can do you in, too. Who says you need standard  weeding tools  to kill weeds? Here are seven ways to kill weeds with weapons you already have around your house. How to Kill Weeds 1. Newspaper:  A carpet of newspaper, which blocks sunlight and oxygen from reaching the soil, will smother weeds already sprouted and prevent new ones from growing. Throw down newspaper in 10-sheet layers, wet to hold it down, and cover with an inch or two of mulch. If weeds begin to grow in the mulch, add more layers, making a mulch-newspaper lasagna, which eventually will decompose and nourish the soil. 2. Old shower curtains and carpet samples:  Spreading these useless items in garden paths or between rows will keeps weeds from ever showing their unwanted heads. Cover with mulch. 3. Corn gl...

5 Plants You (Almost) Never Have to Water By:  Lisa Kaplan Gordon Every plant needs water. But drought-resistant varieties need only dainty sips once they’re established, making them perfect for low-rainfall areas and low-energy gardeners. Susan Gottlieb, an expert on drought-tolerant gardens, says native plants have the best chance of surviving dry summers or whatever nature throws at them. “Natives have evolved to thrive in your climate without a whole lot of extra work,” Gottlieb says. Include these five stunners in your  landscaping  and retire your watering can. 1. California lilac (Ceanothus):  This beautiful shrub flowers in late winter/early spring, emits a lovely fragrance, and shows flowers that run from white to purple. The “Concha” variety is prized for its deep blue blossoms. California lilacs grow best on dry, sloping land or in front of any structure that protects them from wind. They also prefer well-drained soil, and they don’t ...

Have a wonderful and safe July 4th weekend! We're ready to celebrate with friends, food, and fireworks. A special thank you to those who serve and have served our country so that we can enjoy the freedoms we have. So many are currently away from their families and so many have given the ultimate sacrifice - we are forever grateful.

I know I've been really busy with buyers and showing them homes. If you've been thinking about purchasing a home, contact me at 571-970-7195 or whitney@whitneyminnich.com, to learn about the services I provide and how you can start the home buying process. More Buyers Are Out Touring Homes DAILY REAL ESTATE NEWS | MONDAY, JUNE 22, 2015 Home buyer foot traffic can be a strong indicator of the demand for housing, and foot traffic has been strong this spring, according to data from the National Association of REALTORS®, which measures foot traffic by the number of times SentriLock lock boxes are opened. "Despite a steady upward movement in mortgage rates in late April and May, demand for housing remains strong," NAR notes on its Economists' Outlook blog. NAR's index for foot traffic was 59 in May – 13.8 points higher than the same time last year. A measure above 50 indicates that more than half of about 200 markets analyzed had stronger traffic in May ...

While this is a posting for REALTORS, it's also a great read for sellers. If you have been thinking about selling your house, contact me at 571-970-7195 or whitney@whitneyminnich.com to learn about the services I provide and how you can get your home on the market. 10 Reasons Why You Should Stage Your Next Listing Posted in  Staging Tips , by  Blog Contributor  on June 22, 2015 By Audra Slinkey, Home Staging Resource Sometimes it can be a challenge convincing the home seller to use  a certified staging professional  so I created some visuals using the latest, 2014-2015 statistics to assist agents in getting the point across to their clients. Professional home staging is not only for homes that are a “mess” but it also makes a huge difference in the selling price for homes that are “typical”. In fact, statistics show that it doesn’t matter whether the home is vacant, occupied, a fixer or a beauty — when a certified staging professional gets a hold...