SWMRealty Blog

If you live in the Midwest, you know that our weather can change quite drastically. Once Winter hits, our utilities bill can skyrocket if we don't take the right steps to prevent that from happening. City Utilities of Springfield MO made an announcement that makes taking these precautions even more important this year. They expect natural gas prices to double. You can read more details about the anticipated price increase here.

To help you save money this Winter, here are some things you can do to help keep those utility bills stay down. Many of these to-do's are very affordable and just require planning ahead.

1) Lower the temperature on your water heater to 125 degrees.

2) Chec...

There’s a well-known economic theory – the law of supply and demand – that explains what’s happening with prices in the current real estate market. Put simply, when demand for an item is high, prices rise. When the supply of the item increases, prices fall. Of course, when demand is very high and supply is very low, prices can rise significantly.

Understanding the impact both supply and demand have can provide the answers to a few popular questions about today’s housing market:

• Why are prices rising?
• Where are prices headed?
• What does this mean for homebuyers?
• Why Are Prices Rising?

Why are Prices Rising?

According to the latest Home Price Insights report from CoreLogic, home...

https://www.canva.com/design/DAEeR_Sww70/AjGK1vaTQeALMIV1D2J7FQ/view?utm_content=DAEeR_Sww70&utm_campaign=designshare&utm_medium=link&utm_source=publishsharelink

Some Highlights

• Due to low supply and high demand, today is one of the strongest sellers’ markets we’ve seen.
• Sellers can benefit from more offers to pick from, higher home values, and a faster sales process. That might be why 73% of people believe it’s a good time to sell.
• Sellers, don’t miss out on this unique opportunity. Let’s connect so you can take advantage of this hot sellers’ market.

The 1900's was filled with charming homes full of beautiful details that we don't see much of today. Here are a few trends that were popular during that time. You might fall in love with the stained glass trend we are going to talk about.

Voysey Wallpaper

Charles Voysey was a furniture and textile designer, known for his wallpaper and fabric designs. In the 1900's Voysey wallpaper was commonly used to brighten up a space. We are currently seeing this trend come back with new wallpaper designs being sold and added as accent walls in homes today.

Stained Glass

Have you ever walked into a house and been surprised by a stained glass window? We don't see this much any more today, but...

Some Highlights

• If you’re thinking of selling your house but don’t know what you should buy, you have options.
• Existing homes offer a wide variety of home styles, an established neighborhood, and lived-in charm. Meanwhile, new home construction lets you create your perfect home, cash in on energy efficiency, and minimize repairs.
• Whether you’re looking for newly built or existing homes, both have their perks. If you’re ready to sell your house, let’s connect today to go over the perks of both existing and newly built homes to find out what’s right for you.

Save Time and Effort by Selling with an Agent

Selling a house is a time-consuming process – especially if you decide to do it on your own, known as a For Sale By Owner (FSBO). From conducting market research to reviewing legal documents, handling negotiations, and more, it’s an involved and highly detailed process that requires a lot of expertise to navigate effectively. That’s one of the reasons why the percentage of people selling their own house has declined from 19% to 8% (See graph below):

To help you understand just how much time and effort it takes to sell on your own, here’s a look at a few of the things you need to think about before putting that “For Sale” sign up in your ...

There’s no denying we’re in a sellers’ market. With low inventory and high buyer demand, homes today are selling above the asking price at a record rate. According to the latest Realtors Confidence Index Survey from the National Association of Realtors (NAR):

Homes typically sell within 17 days (compared to 26 days one year ago).
The average home sold has five offers to pick from.
54% of offers are over the asking price.

Because so many buyers are competing for so few homes, bidding wars are driving up home prices. According to an average of leading expert projections, existing home prices are expected to increase by 8.9% this year.

Yet even in today’s red-hot sellers’ market, it’s i...

Hope Is on the Horizon for Today’s Housing Shortage

The major challenge in today’s housing market is that there are more buyers looking to purchase than there are homes available to buy. Simply put, supply can’t keep up with demand. A normal market has a 6-month supply of homes for sale. Anything over that indicates it’s a buyers’ market, but an inventory level below that threshold means we’re in a sellers’ market. Today’s inventory level sits far below the norm.

According to the Existing Home Sales Report from the National Association of Realtors (NAR):

“Total housing inventory at the end of April amounted to 1.16 million units, up 10.5% from March's inventory and down 20.5% from on...

Hello, it's time to sell!

The housing market in the United States experienced a spike last year, following an increase on stay-at-home mandates. This forced many families to rethink their lifestyles and what they needed from a house; for example: two offices with room to grow into one full time office space, or if both spouses work then maybe some extra storage areas would be necessary so that there is enough space in each household's bedroom closet. One of these changes was most noticeable when it came down to children and education as well as outdoor activities such as sports practice where you need more than just your front yard or park nearby.

The prices of homes in the United S...

Curb appeal is always going to be important. It's the first impression people will get of your home. There are many ways to improve your curb appeal. Take care of your lawn, flower beds, power wash your driveway each year, etc. But today, we are talking about a very effective, affordable and quick way to up your curb appeal, and Spring is the perfect time to do it!

PAINT YOUR FRONT DOOR!

That's right! Just by painting your front door, you are sure to catch the attention of people driving by or looking to purchase your house. It is recommended that you pick a color that stands our rather than one that blends it. The front door should be accented from the rest of the house, so have a bit ...

Here are some quick, but important numbers for the current market in the Springfield MO Area.

If you have any questions about how this would impact selling your home, give me a call today!

If you just bought your first home, you may be feeling excited about no longer having landlords to tell you what you can and can't do to your living space. I remember buying my first home and I started painting the walls because, as a previous renter, I never had the opportunity to enjoy my choice of color for my home.

Yes, get creative, have fun, but it is also important to know and educate yourself on routine home maintenance. This helps prevent receiving huge repair bills when something gets forgotten or hasn't been checked on in years. I created this graphic that creates a seasonal schedule for performing routine home maintenance items. Enjoy!

For more routine maintenance items ...

I have been loving these warmer, Spring days! The flowers are blooming, the grass is green and we are saying goodbye to cold weather! Yay!

Here are a few ideas for some Spring fun in the Springfield Area:

Smallin Civil War Cave: Take a 1 hour guided tour of this cave. The pathways are stroller and wheelchair friendly!

Take a kite out to the Nathaniel Greene Botanical Gardens and enjoy a relaxing activity.

Getaway Golf: This is such a fun mini golf course that is inspired by traveling around the world!

For more Spring time fun, Click Here!

With our current market, I am seeing more and more "For Sale by Owner," listings popping up. While I always recommend working with a professional when it comes to Real Estate, I understand that wanting to try and sell your home yourself is an option that individuals want to explore. Here are a couple of graphics to help you make the best first impression to potential buyers.

For my complete guide to selling your own home, email me at lmacdonald@swmrealty.com

In today's competitive market, it is so important to understand why it is in your best interest to hire a Buyer's Agent. I have put together this video to explain the differences between the agent on the sign at the house and the buyer's agent. 

I recently had a discussion with a client about needing a home office. With a rising number of people working from home, the want/need to have a private and dedicated workspace in our homes has increased significantly. For this particular client, she is needing a private office space, but doesn't have a spare room to create a good work area. So here is what I suggested...

You can use your guest bedroom as an office space as well. This is probably a really easy way to develop that work space. You can get creative with multi-functioning furniture for your desk and still have the space warm and welcoming to your guests. If your guest room isn't very big, you can always consider getting a ...