How Should You Effectively Organize Your Home Search?

The Weekly Recap

Good morning and happy Friday! Our overlords at the Federal Reserve left rates unchanged after their meeting this week. The surge of inflation looks mostly to be over as traders still believe there is a high probability of a September rate cut as Powell also said that rates could be cut by the next Fed meeting. Our friends across the pond at The Bank of England lowered rates for the first time in four years. Mortgages have hit their lowest levels in months while US pending home sales have risen for the first time in three months. Donald Trump has come out as a crypto cheerleader sending the price of bitcoin above $70,000 earlier this week and the US national debt topped $35 Trillion.

If you missed last weeks newsletter on how Real Estate Markets Are Impacted by Politics and Election Cycles, you can check it out through the link.

How Should You Effectively Organize Your Home Search?

Buying a home can be an exciting journey, especially if it’s your first time going through the process. Staying organized and structured in your search can help make that process more enjoyable and less intimidating as you go through the myriad of steps required to complete the home purchase. Most clients come to me with an idea of where it is they want to live and what their comfort zone is for purchasing. Here is how I advise clients to take action as the search begins and their price point has been decided:

Create a List of Must Haves and Nice-to Haves: Believe it or not, these two lists become interchangeable throughout the search process. What used to be a must have becomes a nice to have once you start seeing homes, while some ‘nice to have’ items either completely disappear or you realize how important it is and becomes a must have. The more fluidity you allow yourself in your search parameters, the more market exposure you will get and will be able to prioritize what is important.

Track Your Search: Seeing a lot of units online and in person can become very overwhelming where apartments/homes start to blend together and can create a cacophony of confusion as to the nuance of each apartment. Create a spreadsheet with your top 5 or 6 homes that you see online and rank them. Once ranked, compare them to your list of must haves and nice to haves. Once you see them in person, start going through the process of elimination as you see them until you’re down to 1 or 2 units. In my experience, whether the price point is $500k or $5 million or $50 million, a home never checks 10 out of 10 boxes for a buyer. It only becomes 10 out of 10 once you move in and make it your own. Homes that check 7 out of 10 wish list items have a ton of value and where most people land.

Aggregate Your Financial Documents: Especially if you are financing, the longer the search process takes from when you are pre-approved the more documentation a bank will require. Same is for the board application portion of the sale where you will need to produce financial documents to solidify your purchase with the building. In the case of CO-OPs the amount of documentation required can be overbearing. As you begin your search collect your last two years of tax returns and W2s (if you’re self employed you should get a letter from your accountant stating last several years of income and projected income for the current year), your two most recent pay stubs, your two most recent bank statements for each institution you have money with and put them in a desktop folder or secure dropbox link where you can access them easily. It will also allow you to continually add new paystubs and statements so you are not scrambling with complex logins.

Lean on Your Real Estate Agent: Your agent is the quarterback of your deal and with the transactional experience we have, we will be able to help you navigate the nuance of the deal. From submitting offers, to negotiating deals to introducing you to the right attorney and mortgage partner as well as helping you to overcome any roadblocks you may encounter on your journey. I hope I am that agent for you and am here to answer any questions you may have about the process!

Market Performance

Here are how some other indexes and asset classes have performed as of Wednesday’s opening bell, markets were closed yesterday.

NYC Market Update

Here is a view of new inventory that has come onto the NYC market over the past MONTH as well as newly signed contracts in Manhattan.

Mortgage Rate Update

Mortgage Rates dropped again this week to their lowest levels since early February. Expectations of a Fed rate cut coupled with signs of cooling inflation bode well for the market. Nationwide there has ben a recent moderation in home price growth and increases in inventory which is good news for potential homebuyers.

News You Can Use

• Powell Says Fed Could Cut Rates ‘As Soon As’ September Meeting Bloomberg

• Bank of England Lowers Rates to 5% For Their First Cut in Four Years Financial Times

• Calm Inflation Reading Keeps the Door Open At Fed for September Rate Cut Yahoo Finance

• US Pending Home Sales Rise For the First Time In Three Months Bloomberg

• Fed’s Key Inflation Gauge Rose 2.5% in June from A Year Ago, Easing Path to Rate Cut CNBC

• The Inflation Surge Looks to Be Mostly Over, Putting Fed Rate Cuts in Play Axios

• Slowing Wage Gains Restrain US Labor Costs in Second Quarter Reuters

• Surge in Commercial-Property Foreclosures Suggest Bottom Is Near Wall Street Journal

• Trump Promises American Crypto “Going to the Moon” Axios

• Manhattan Has a Housing Problem Newsweek

• US National Debt Tops $35 Trillion New York Times

• Indoor Soccer Facility Scores First Manhattan Location in Iconic Financial District Office Building NY Post

The Deep Insight

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Feel free to reach out to discuss more in-depth about your real estate goals, share your thoughts about my newsletter, or to share what you're experiencing in this market. Looking forward to hearing from you!