Kim Gullatt Real Estate

Planning to Move? You Can Still Secure a Low Mortgage Rate on Your Next Home This year, mortgage rates have started to slowly climb above recent record-breaking lows. Many homeowners planning to move may feel like they’ve missed the chance to score a great rate on their next mortgage. In reality, there’s still time to secure a rate far below the historic norm. After creeping up, average mortgage rates have dropped more recently. With rates taking a slight dip over the past tw...o weeks at the same time the inventory of houses for sale is so low, homeowners today are sitting in the optimal seat to sell. What’s the advantage to selling your house now? Securing a low mortgage rate on your next home. Experts are encouraging homeowners to act now before interest rates climb. Danielle Hale, Chief Economist at realtor.com, explains, mortgage rates slid for a second week ... but we don’t expect rates to stay at this level for too long. Hale continues...

Brand new to the market!! 5357 Sycamore Road #Sugar Hill Within walking distance to downtown Sugar Hill for details ... (678) 591-8180 See more

INFOGRAPHIC: Here's why it's important to make time for our hobbies...

How Much Time Do You Need To Save for a Down Payment? One of the biggest hurdles homebuyers face is saving for a down payment. As you’re budgeting and planning for your home purchase, you’ll want to understand how much you’ll need to put down and how long it will take you to get there. The process may actually move faster than you think. Using data from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and Apartment List, we can estimate how long it might take someon...e earning the median income and paying the median rent to save up for a down payment on a median-priced home. Since saving for a down payment can be a great time to practice budgeting for housing costs, this estimate also uses the concept that a household should not pay more than 28% of their total income on monthly housing expenses. According to the data, the national average for the time it would take to save for a 10% down payment is right around two and a half years (2.53...

Home Is Where the Heart Is [INFOGRAPHIC] There’s no doubt about it: homeowners love their homes, and that feeling has become even more important over the past year. The vast majority of homeowners say they’re emotionally attached to their home and that it has kept them safe during the COVID-19 pandemic. Owning a home provides a sense of safety, security, and accomplishment. DM me to move your homeownership goals forward today.

BRAND NEW TO THE MARKET!! 5357 Sycamore Road Within walking distance to downtown #sugarhillga $214,900 for details... (678) 591-8189 See more

Why This Is a Great Year to Sell Your Vacation Home As vaccines are administered and travel resumes, many of us are beginning to plan for those long-awaited vacations we missed out on over the past year. Some households are focusing their efforts on buying a vacation home rather than staying in a hotel, too. The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) reports, Second homes (i.e., homes sold to buyers who are not going to occupy the home year-round, but use it as a vacat...ion home, investment property, etc.) account for 15 percent of new single-family home sales. It’s not surprising that there’s an increase in demand for vacation homes. The majority of Americans are realizing they prefer to be around small groups, as shown in a recent survey from The Harris Poll. Social distancing taught consumers new things about how they like to socialize; (75%) said, ‘during COVID social distancing I realized I preferred smaller social gatherings at home...

93% of Americans Believe a Home Is a Better Investment Than Stocks A recent Survey of Consumer Finances study released by the Federal Reserve reveals the net worth of homeowners is forty times greater than that of renters. If you’re wondering if homeownership is a good investment, the study clearly answers that question, and the answer is yes. Do Americans believe a home is a better investment than stocks? In a post on the Liberty Street Economics blog, the Federal Reserve Ba...nk of New York notes that 93.3% of Americans believe buying a home is definitely or probably a better investment than buying stocks. The survey also shows a wide range of reasons why Americans feel that way, with the top answers being that housing prices are less volatile, it provides stability in a desired living environment, and for tax reasons. The data show how strongly Americans believe in homeownership as an investment. That belief is warranted. The Liberty Street Economics...

Some Buyers Prefer Smaller Homes Over the past year, we’ve had plenty of opportunities to reflect on what we consider most important in our lives. The place we call home is one of the biggest things many of us are reevaluating. For some, this has spurred an interest in making a move to a home that better suits our changing needs. In a recent study on today’s homebuyer preferences, the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) states, When asked more specifically how the p...andemic may have impacted their preference for home size21% or about 1 out of every 5 buyers, do want a larger home now as a direct result of the health crisis, while another segment 12% would prefer a smaller one instead. It’s interesting that a significant portion of homeowners actually want less space. For those who own larger homes right now and have a desire to move, today’s housing market is full of opportunities. As a homeowner today, you likely have...

Lose your wallet? Call the credit bureau and ask for a fraud alert. Here are some important steps to take.

How smart is your home? Here are six tools that will take your house to the next level. Buyers are seeing more and more smart homes and are beginning to expect it. These are great upgrades if your selling, but also great if you are staying in your home.

Multigenerational Housing Is Gaining Momentum [INFOGRAPHIC] If your house is feeling a little cramped with the addition of adult children or aging parents, it might be time to consider a move-up into a multigenerational home that better suits your changing needs. With benefits that include a combined homebuying budget and shared caregiving duties, an increasing number of households are discovering the value of a multigenerational home. With such high demand for houses today, now is a great time to sell so you can upgrade to a multigenerational home that may better suit your evolving needs.