Hi, I'm Andy Mandel with the Mandel team at Remax. It's not a secret that interest rates are rising in the United States. Fairway Mortgage, as our preferred lender, has a new program called "Lock Shop & Go." Normally you can't lock in an interest rate until you're already under contract. This program allows you to lock in an interest rate now, before you go under contract. Here's Scott Lushing, our preferred lender, to tell you more about this product and how it works.

Yes, it is true. Interest rates have gone up over 2% this year and we aren't even halfway through the year yet. Don't you wish you could have locked into your rate even though you hadn't found a home yet? Well, now you can with our Lock Shop & Go program, here's how it works. And…

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One of the biggest concerns for a homeowner looking to sell is the time that they'll have to put in before listing their home. If that's the case for you you should know your home might be closer to list-ready than you think, in today's market. A survey of recent sellers from realtor.com finds that many were able to get their home ready in less than a month. According to the survey, the preparation process took less than a month for over 50% of home sellers this past year with 20% completing it in less than two weeks. With the limited number of homes for sale there's very few options for those buyers to choose from which means they may be willing to take on projects after they purchase.

Because of this, you may be able to focus on less…

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Buying your first home is a major decision and an exciting milestone. Even though it can feel daunting at times, it has the power to change your life for the better. If you're looking to purchase your first home, you may be wondering what's happening in the housing market today, how much you need to save, and where to start.Hey, it's Andy Mandel with the Mandel Team at RE/MAX. And in this video, I'm gonna give you the three tips that I'd recommend for first time home buyers.

Number one, consider a fixer-upper. Today, there are still more buyers in the market than there are homes available for sale. It's important to have an open mind and consider a home that could use a little cosmetic updating. I'm not suggesting you buy the dilapidated mold box…

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Many people are wondering will home prices fall this year? Whether you're a potential home buyer, seller, or both, the answer to this question matters for you. Hey, it's Andy Mandel with the Mandel Team at RE/MAX. And in this video, we're gonna break down what's happening with home prices, where experts say they're headed, and how this impacts your home ownership goals.

Home prices have been going up since they bottomed out in 2011. In fact, we've seen 121 consecutive months of year over year increases. In 2021, they went up about 24% compared to 2020 in our area here in South Florida. So, why are prices climbing so much? It's because there are more buyers than there are homes for sale. Even before the pandemic induced craziness, we were already…

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- As mortgage rates started to rise this year, many homeowners began to wonder if the value of their homes would fall. Here's the good news. Historically, when mortgage rates rise by a percentage point or more, home values continue to appreciate. After leveling off last year, home price appreciation has re-accelerated since November. The graph below shows increases in home price appreciation in green. This is largely due to an ongoing imbalance in supply and demand. Specifically, housing supply is still low, and demand is still high.

As mortgage rates started to rise this year, many home buyers rushed to make their purchases before those rates could climb any higher. The increased competition drove home prices up even more. And experts say,…

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As people realize their needs are changing, some are turning to luxury housing to find their dream home. Investopedia helps define what pushes a home into this category. In a recent article, they point out that a luxury home isn’t only defined by its price. Location is also an important factor. It could be a condo at a desirable city address, a spacious home on the water, or one with access to luxury activities like arts and entertainment, high-end shopping and dining, and more. The home itself will also boast some of the finest features available.

According to the Luxury Market Report from the Institute for Luxury Home Marketing, there’s been a substantial increase in how many buyers are purchasing luxury homes over the past two years. It says:

…

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There were so many people screaming about foreclosures in the last year because of the pandemic, saying that the foreclosure numbers were going to explode once forbearance programs ended at the end of 2021. These people were saying the market was gonna crash like 2008 because of the foreclosures, and they were warning people not to buy. Hey, it's Andy with the Mandel Team at RE/MAX and it turns out those alarmists were just wrong just like we predicted, but let's dig into these numbers.


Today's data shows that most homeowners are exiting their forbearance plan either fully caught up on payments or with a plan from the bank that restructured their loan in a way that allowed them to start making payments again. Let's look at the graph. According…

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A recession does not equal a housing crisis. That's the one thing that every homeowner today needs to know home buyers as well, everywhere you look, experts are warning that we could be heading towards a recession sometime in the next 12 to 24 months. Even if that's true, an economic slowdown does not mean that homes will lose value.

A recession is defined as a significant decline in economic activity spread across the economy, normally visible in production, employment, and other indicators. Typically it's when you have two consecutive quarters of gross domestic product going negative, let's take a look at the chart. There have been six recessions in this country over the past four decades. As the graph shows, looking at the recessions going all…

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The shift everyone's been talking about and waiting for in the South Florida real estate market, is starting to happen. Hey, it's Andy Mandel, with The Mandel Team at RE/MAX, and I'm here to bring you your June 2022 housing market update. As always, for the purposes of these videos, I'm going to be talking about single family homes only, in Boca, Parkland, and Coral Springs. That's the area where our team does the predominant amount of our business. No country clubs, no townhouses, no condos, no 55 and over. So let's get into it.

The first stat we like to look at, is the number of new listings hitting the market. The supply. Now that's down only 1%. So we're not seeing a ton of new listings, but we're also not seeing a decrease, which is what has…

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