September 19, 2024

The Interest Rate-Condo Price Connection

Low interest rates, while often seen as a driver of real estate transactions, can also discourage homeowners from selling their properties. Many owners secured their homes during a period of historically low mortgage rates. These favorable rates made owning a home more affordable by reducing monthly mortgage payments. If they were to sell, they would likely face much higher interest rates when purchasing a new home, leading to significantly higher monthly payments. This "rate lock-in" effect causes homeowners to think twice about selling,
April 13, 2018

How Accurate Are Zillow Zestimates?

For some reason, people have come to treat Zestimates are the defacto standard. Maybe it has something to do with our desire for instant gratification. In today’s internet-obsessed society, we want instant answers. How accurate are they? Not very. They are better used as a starting point for determining value, not the endpoint.
July 24, 2024

Rent or Sell? Cash Flow is Key

So you are planning on moving and are mulling over the big decision of whether to keep your current place and rent it out or to sell it. For most people the answer is easy as they have to sell it to be able to buy the next place. For those in the position of not having to sell, the question is should you? In this post I'll give you a few questions to ponder and a short cash flow calculator to give you a clearer picture of the costs involved.