Eric Lowry's Articles Archives

Buying A Home During The Holidays

October 28, 2013 by Eric Lowry Leave a Comment

Buying A Home During The Holidays

Many potential homebuyers may assume that the holidays are not a good time to buy a home. This is a common misconception. There are numerous reasons that buying a home during the holidays can be a good choice. Serious buyers would be wise to consider taking advantage of the unique market conditions that occur during the holiday season. Here are some reasons buying a home during the holidays can be beneficial to you.

Motivated Sellers – Those who choose to list their home for sale during the holidays are often under pressure to sell. Since these sellers can be so highly motivated, they are more likely to cut you a great deal.

Less competition – Since many homebuyers do choose to wait out the holiday season, this means less competition from other buyers. Lower competition with other buyers may mean you’ll be able to negotiate a better price for a home you want to purchase.

Better Interest Rates – Interest rates drop every December through January on a cyclical basis. In addition to that, due to the current market conditions with the Federal Reserve planning to taper bond purchasing, real estate and mortgage experts expect interest rates to begin a continuous rise beginning after the holidays. The Lowry Team’s preferred partner, Justin Phillips at Rapid Mortgage can work with you to meet your financial needs for buying a home during the holidays.

Tax Deduction – Buying a home and closing on it by the New Year can mean a significant tax deduction for you. All the mortgage interest you will be paying monthly is fully tax deductible. Property taxes will also be an annual deduction as long as you own your home.

Faster Closings – Closings are historically shown to be faster during the months of November and December due to the fact that the number of transactions occurring during these months is lower. The Lowry Team has a Transaction Coordinator that makes sure the process from contract to closing goes as smoothly and as quickly as possible for you as a buyer.

Low Interest Rates Aren’t Expected To Last – Now Is The Time To Buy A Home

October 25, 2013 by Eric Lowry Leave a Comment

Low Interest Rates Aren’t Expected To Last – Now Is The Time To Buy A Home

The real estate market is currently experiencing a huge window of opportunity for homebuyers. The Federal Reserve has been buying $85 million worth of bonds monthly. This has allowed the interest rates on mortgages to drop low in the first half of the year. Over the summer, we saw a steady increase in interest rates. This was due to a rumor that the Fed was going to stop buying bonds. Recently, however, the Fed has announced that they plan to continue to purchase bonds. What does that mean for you as a homebuyer? Well, it means that as of the announcement, interest rates are experiencing a temporary drop. This drop in interest rates greatly affects your purchasing power. These low interest rates could mean the difference between you buying your dream home or settling for your second choice.

However, it is expected that the Fed is going to begin to taper their bond purchasing in December. Ben Bernake, Chairman of the Federal Reserve, states “If the data confirms our basic outlook, then we could move later this year.” This taper in bond purchases will drive interest rates back up. The National Association of Realtors, the Mortgage Bankers Association, Fannie Mae, and Freddie Mac all predict around a 1% increase in interest rates by this time next year. So if you have been on the fence about buying a home, let this be the push you need. This is your window of opportunity – don’t waste it.

Thanksgiving Food Drive For Reach Out Lakota

October 22, 2013 by Eric Lowry Leave a Comment

Thanksgiving Food Drive For Reach Out Lakota

The Lowry Team will again be conducting our annual Thanksgiving Food Drive for Reach Out Lakota. Yes, it’s that time of year again… time to count our many blessings of the past year and help those in our own community have a beautiful Thanksgiving when they otherwise could not.

Please join us in helping Reach Out Lakota fill Thanksgiving tables all around our community this year and help out a family in need. We are collecting items to donate to Reach Out Lakota.

It’s very simple to help. Just fill out our automated form letting us know that you want to donate. Then just leave your donations on your front porch on the morning of Friday, November 15th by 9:00am. We will stop by and pick up your donations and deliver them to Reach Out Lakota that day. No worries…we will send you a reminder email earlier that week.

It is that simple and will mean so much to someone in our community that is having a difficult time. Please consider supporting our efforts to support the community that we live in.

THANK YOU!

Needed Items:

Canned vegetables & fruits
Canned soups
Peanut butter & jelly
Canned meat (tuna, chicken, ham, chili w/ meat & beans, beef stew, etc)
Macaroni & cheese
Personal care items (soap, shampoo, etc)
Cereal
Sugar, flour, condiments, vegetable oil
Dry pasta, canned pasta, pasta sauce

You can also make a monetary donation. Please make checks payable to Reach Out Lakota. Donations are tax deductible.

Thinking Of Selling Your Home? 5 Reasons To Do It Now

October 10, 2013 by Eric Lowry Leave a Comment

Thinking Of Selling Your Home? 5 Reasons To Do It Now

1. Demand Is High – Serious buyers are on the hunt for their dream home. The buyers know that interest rates are on the rise, and they want to take advantage of the low rates before they’re gone. Buyer traffic is 17.2 % higher than a year ago. The buyers are out there, and they are serious about purchasing.

2. Supply Is Beginning To Increase – Total housing inventory last month rose 5.6% to 2.28 million homes for sale. Many real estate experts expect inventory to continue to rise. Selling now while demand is high and before housing supply further increases may allow you get the best price for your home.

3. New Construction Is Making A Comeback – All around our community you see neighborhoods filled with home construction crews. Recently, since the market has been recovering, many builders have started new projects, and their homes will hit the market soon. New construction homes provide strong competition for resale homes.

4. Interest Rates Are Rising– Interest rates for a 30-year mortgage have increased to 4.57%. The National Association of Realtors, Freddie Mac, and Fannie Mae are all predicting a steady increase in interest rates up to 5.1% in 2014. This means that if you’re planning on using a mortgage to a buy a new home, your housing expense will be much higher in a year than it is now.

5. The Sale Is Guaranteed! – All agents say they will sell your home. Well, the Lowry Team backs it up. If your home fails to sell in 88 days or less, we will sell it for free. Yes, you read that right! We will sell your home at a price acceptable to you, GUARANTEED!

Get started by finding out what your home is worth at www.GuaranteedSale.com

Other Articles You May Be Interested In:

West Chester & Mason Ohio Real Estate: This Month In Real Estate – October 2013

Selling Your Home By Yourself – For Sale By Owner

West Chester & Mason Ohio Real Estate: This Month In Real Estate – October 2013

October 9, 2013 by Eric Lowry Leave a Comment

West Chester & Mason Ohio Real Estate: This Month In Real Estate – October 2013

This Month In Real Estate for October 2013: Factors that drive first time home purchases and taking a look at the national home sale numbers.

Home sales nationally continued to improve in both unit sales numbers as well as increases in average sale price. The national average on a 30 year fixed rate mortgage is currently at 4.50% Get preapproved for a home loan Locally as of this writing, a 30 year fixed rate mortgage is averaging around 4.29%

According to Keller Williams (KW) research first time home purchases are primarily drive by three factors.

1. The current real estate market – the current market in our area is very advantageous for buying a home right now. First Time Homebuyers will find home prices are still low and represent great value. Mortgage interest rates have now gone back down slightly after a very quick run up over the last few months

2. Financial readiness – while financial readiness is very much an individual issue, the affordability factor that today’s low rates and home prices offer can not be overlooked.

3. Location & price – location is most often identified by first time homebuyers as being either close to their workplace or close in proximity to where the currently live.

Thinking of buying a home? Start your search on our real estate search engine: www.LOWRYTEAM.com

Thinking of selling your home in one of our areas of specialization including West Chester, Mason, Fairfield Township and Liberty Township ? Find Your Homes Value Here – Right Now

Homes with the best pricing and the best condition go first and sell quickly! Need more information on preparing your home for sale?

Other articles that you may find interesting:

First Time Homebuyer Series: Can You Afford To Keep Renting?

First Time Homebuyer Series: 3 Steps To Getting Started

The Lowry Team Announces New Team Member – Jessica Lowry

October 3, 2013 by Eric Lowry Leave a Comment

The Lowry Team Announces New Team Member – Jessica Lowry

The Lowry Team at Keller Williams Realty, West Chester, Ohio is excited to announce that Jessica Lowry has joined the team as Marketing Director. Jessica leads the initiatives for The Lowry Team with regard to business development, social media, external communications and all efforts relating to the advertising and marketing of properties listed for sale by The Lowry Team.

Jessica has lived in West Chester most of her life, and is a graduate of the University of Cincinnati. Eric Lowry, CEO of Lowry Team, says “We are excited to have Jessica join our team. We are extensive marketers of real estate and needed a full time Marketing Director to ensure all of our initiatives are fully executed.”
About The Lowry Team: The Lowry Team – Keller Williams Realty is an award winning, full service real estate firm specializing in West Chester, Liberty Township, Mason, Monroe, Fairfield Township, Fairfield and the Northern Suburbs of Cincinnati. The Lowry Team is “Different By Design”… taking a team approach to home buying and selling. The Lowry Team consists of members that are focused on areas of specialization including Listing Specialists, Buyer Specialists, Transaction/Listing Coordinator and a Marketing Director. The Lowry Team – Keller Williams Realty can be reached at 513-874-1830 or email: Eric@LowryTeam.com