Mortgage Rates Remain Low

According to the National Association of Realtors, the median existing home price climbed to $252,800 in May, the exceeding the peak hit in June 2016 of $247,600.

Home prices have been rising every month for more than five years.

Cities across the U.S. are facing major housing shortages, which means buyers have to compete for homes with bidding wars and offers well above asking price.

“Prices are moving up and properties are moving quickly,” said Danielle Hale, NAR’s managing director of housing research.

Builders aren’t building enough houses to keep up with demand and current homeowners are hesitant to list their properties because they’re worried they won’t be able to buy a new home.

But there has been one saving grace for buyers: mortgage rates, says CNN Money.

Even though the Federal Reserve has begun raising interest rates, mortgages have been hovering below 4% recently. Last week, the average rate of a 30-year fixed mortgage ticked down to 3.90%.

With the Fed raising rates, interest rates are expected to gradually rise over time, but should stay pretty low for the foreseeable future.

Our Featured Properties:

1011 Worsham Way, Gatlinburg, TN 37738

$1,825,000    ID#: 211111

Rustic Elegance describes this quality-built, private, spacious, 5BD/5BA, 2-half BA, 5,400+ sq ft mountain chalet with historic features incorporated from family’s VA farm. Amazing views of the Smokies with Mt. LeConte front and center! Ideal as a permanent or 2nd home, or as an overnight rental – tremendous rental potential in a beautiful, wooded location on just over an acre of private land.  Learn More

What’s in your retirement portfolio?

2016 marked the 35th consecutive year of growth in the number of The Entrust Group clients using self-directed retirement savings accounts to invest in real estate. Likewise, the value of their purchases and sales continued to increase.

The Entrust Group, a provider in the self-directed IRA industry, has released its annual Real Estate Investor Market Research Report, highlighting 2016 trends in Real Estate IRA investments. For the first time, the report includes sales data alongside purchases.

“Our clients’ consistent interest in using real estate to save for their retirement demonstrates the ability of self-direction to create a diverse portfolio, manage risk, and invest in assets that typically deliver a good return on investment,” says Irene Vann, real estate manager for The Entrust Group.
-News from RISmedia.com

Investing in real estate with an IRA
If you are interested in purchasing real estate in the Great Smoky Mountains area with your IRA, we can help you with the process.  Sort of like a 1031 exchange, you must have a third party or “custodian” act as your intermediary.  There are a number of quality custodians from which to choose.  We have closed a number of these transactions for buyers and sellers over the years so let us know what your goals are and we’ll help you get there.  More Details on how to make your IRA recession resistant.
Add diversity to your retirement portfolio and reach out to one of our experts.

Featured Listings:

2931 Summit Trails Dr. Sevierville, TN 37862
$695,000   ID#  208471

 
Private, spacious, luxurious, 4 BD/4.5 BA, 3,800+ sq ft log cabin, located in the beautiful & scenic Bluff Mtn./Waldens Creek area, only minutes to downtown Pigeon Forge, Sevierville, Dollywood, & more. Ideal as a permanent or 2nd home, or as an overnight rental – has tremendous rental potential, complete w/outstanding 180-degree mountain views of the Smokies from three levels.
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129 Oglewood Lane, Gatlinburg, TN, 37738
$575,000    ID# 209400

  
Private, beautiful, creek side, 4 BD/4 BA, 2,700+ sq ft mountain chalet, recently remodeled in 2014, located within easy walking distance to City trolley stops & only minutes to dwtn. Gatlinburg. Makes near or above $77K in rental income annually, and is on track to make over $83K this year alone.
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Home prices continue to escalate, charging upward 6.9 percent in the first quarter of 2017, according to the latest quarterly report by the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR). The increase, stoked by the strongest quarterly sales pace in a decade, marks three straight quarters of growth.

“Prospective buyers poured into the market to start the year, and while their increased presence led to a boost in sales, new listings failed to keep up and hovered around record lows all quarter,” says Lawrence Yun, chief economist at NAR. “Those able to successfully buy most likely had to outbid others—especially for those in the starter home market—which, in turn, quickened price growth to the fastest quarterly pace in almost two years.”

Single-family home prices went up in 85 percent of the markets assessed in the report, or 152 of 178 metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs). Seventeen percent of, or 30, metro areas saw prices up by double digits. At the national level, the median existing single-family home price was $232,100, and the median existing condominium price was $218,600.

Contact the Jason White Team to see what this means for buyers and sellers in the Smokies.

Featured Property:

1235 Ski Mountain Road, Unit 630  Gatlinburg

$149,000, ID# 209748  Short Sale

Well-built & maintained, 3 BD/2 BA, 1,600+ sq ft condo unit, complete with a 1-car attached garage, located immediately adjacent and within short walking distance to Owner’s Club in Chalet Village (with pools & tennis courts),  and also within easy walking distance to the main entrance of Ober Gatlinburg Ski Resort. Ideal as either a permanent or 2nd home, or as an overnight rental.  Part of a very well established condo complex, which also includes a gently flowing, small mountain creek that flows through the property itself, creating a real sense of mountain living at its finest.

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The Federal Reserve Board (the Fed) has just recently raised it’s interest rate for the first time in over a year. What does that mean? Let’s take a look.

For starters, it is important to understand that the Fed adjusts the rate to influence the economy. For example, if things are going well, a rate increase may slow inflation. If the economy is struggling, a rate drop could be the boost it needs. In today’s case, a low amount of inventory is met with a substantially higher demand from buyer’s. This recent change moved the key interest rate by a quarter point, from a range of 0.25-0.5 percent to a range of 0.5-0.75 percent. Why all the fuss? The Fed rates can cause the bank’s to raise their “prime” rates, which are often used to calculate costs of revolving credit or home equity lines of credit. While the increase was modest at best, we will continue to keep an eye on it as we move through 2017 and see how it affects our constantly evolving market.

This Week’s Featured Property:

   2410 Smoky Vista Way – $1,750,000 -Luxurious, spacious, & very well-built, 5 BD/4.5 BA post & beam/log structure, which includes a spacious detached guest home, located at the top of a knoll with spectacular 360 degree views of the Smoky Mountains and surrounding ridge lines. Only mins. to dwtn. Pigeon Forge, Sevierville, Dollywood with easy paved road access. Currently one of the highest grossing income-producing properties on a well-established rental program (even with over 90 owner days during peak times). This amazingly well-built property includes a nearly 5,200 sq ft main home, as well as an over 2,000 sq ft guest home, complete w/a spacious, detached 2-4 car garage & a large, attached 2-car carport, as well as level parking. This property has undergone considerable remodeling & refurbishing, including all re-stained exterior surfaces, new tile surfaces & showers for the bathrooms, new bedroom carpeting, ceiling. Four beautiful waterfall features that surround the in ground pool and mountain stone patios combine with many more architectural features that truly make this property one-of-a-kind. In the main house, you have a large great room w/high, vaulted ceilings, amazing hand hewn exposed king trusses, granite countertops, a large bedroom on each level that features an in-room F/P, private bathroom, & walk-in closet, a large lower level recreation room, a separate lower level den area, & much more. The guest house, features 2 BD’s, 1 BA, a large great room unto over the detached garage. The grounds are walkable and even include a small putting green. A truly great property that is worth the visit alone just to see it – come see it for yourself today before it’s too late!