Cleveland and Cincinnati top list as most affordable cities for millennials

 

Bloomberg recently released a report on the top ten most and least affordable cities in the country for millennials. Cleveland and Cincinnati made the cut for two of the top ten most affordable spots, clocking in at #5 and #8, respectively. Cities across the Midwest also made the list, including Detroit, Indianapolis, and St. Louis.

On the other hand, almost all of the least affordable cities were located on the west coast, with six of the top ten located in California. An article from Realtor Mag noted that the cities most attractive to young people are often the cities that are the furthest out of their price range.

You can see the full list below.

Most Affordable

1. Detroit, Mich.
2. Pittsburgh, Penn.
3. Buffalo, NY
4. Indianapolis, Ind.
5. Cleveland, Ohio
6. Kansas City, MO
7. Memphis, Tenn.
8. Cincinnati, Ohio
9. Birmingham, Ala.
10. St. Louis, MO
    

Least Affordable

1. San Jose, Calif.
2. San Francisco, Calif.
3. Los Angeles, Calif.
4. San Diego, Calif.
5. Sacramento, Calif.
6. New York, NY
7. Seattle, Wash.
8. Riverside, Calif.
9. Washington, D.C.
10. Boston, Mass.
    

How to Modernize the Layout of Your Home

For years, homebuyers sought homes with wide open spaces, with the kitchen competing for attention with the huge, two-story great room. Meg White, a writer for Realtor Magazine, says that's not the situation anymore. Today's homebuyers want to see carved out spaces with designated uses. As for the competition between the great room and the kitchen, these two areas have combined to comprise the main living space of a home. But the contemporary great room doesn't feature a soaring ceiling anymore--it's much more intimate with 10 foot ceilings. Furthermore, buyers don't want to walk right into their main living space, which then gets cluttered with the day's mail, the kid's homework, and car keys. New homes often feature distinct entryways that contain a "drop zone" to help people keep their homes clean and organized. Lastly, the master suite has gained more importance in recent years. Master fireplaces are on the rise, and home builders are conscious to create spaces that work for couples on different sleep schedules.

Does this not sound like your home? There's a few ways to modernize the flow of your house without tearing down walls or adding on rooms. To make the entryway more prominent, add a small table with a drawer, a mail organizer, key hooks, and a charging station. This can serve as your "drop zone." If you have a vast open space for your great room, consider creating nooks and crannies with specific purposes. Perhaps you could make a corner of the room a "homework space" by placing a desk in it. Both of these alterations will help keep your main living space livable--that is, not overwhelmed by everyday clutter. As for the master suite, it often pays off to moderately update your master bath. Funds used to add onto and improve mid-range bathrooms yield a better return on investment than higher-end projects. If you'd like to upgrade bathroom countertops without spending too much money on granite or marble, a mosaic of colored tiles may be the way to go.

For more information, view the original article here.

Contact me if you're interested in updating and staging your home to sell-when I list homes, I stage them for free!

Demand for Homes Outnumbers Supply

Lawrence Yun, chief economist of the National Association of Realtors, writes in Realtor Magazine that the housing recovery is surpassing expectations. Increased demand and minimal new-home construction have increased home prices at a near double-digit pace. 1.5 million new houses are needed each year to keep home-price gains at the ideal level of 3-5 percent annually. As of March, this number finally exceeded the 1 million mark for the first time in five years, but still failed to reach 1.5 million. Home prices are expected to continue to rise even more over the next couple of years, as many buyers chase after too few sellers. While increasing home values are good for sellers, price increases often exceed income growth and thus put buyers at a disadvantage. This situation hinders the economy and leads to inflated price increases in some parts of the nation.

Those considering selling your home, you may want to take advantage of the excess housing demand. Contact me to see what I can do for you.

Read the full article here.

6 Quick Tips to Reduce Debt

Why make reducing debt more complicated than need be? Follow REALTOR magazine’s strategic tips to ensure you are on the right path to a financially healthy life.

Step 1: Assess your debt. Separate good debt (debt that will produce a return in the future or at least is deductible) from bad debt, such as credit card debt. Pay bad debt off first.

Step 2: Set a monthly financial goal. Grab a calculator and find out how much money you need each month to return to stable financial ground. Be aware that this may require cutting expenses or obtaining an additional source of revenue. Don’t damage personal relations by relying on friends and family for credit, and don’t draw money from your retirement savings or stop funding your retirement.

Step 3: Identify smart savings. Analyze which cuts you can make that will not damage your household or business. Canceling cable might be okay, but falling behind on a car lease could very well make your situation worse. As you minimize, slowly increase the amount of money put towards savings and paying off debt.

Step 4: Plan ahead. Maintain social and professional networks so that you will always be aware of new revenue opportunities. Be conscious of what you will need to replace or renew over the next five years (is your car on its last legs?) and figure out how much you should save annually to finance that transaction.

Step 5: Prepare for the worst. Ask yourself what you would do if your situation worsens, for example if you get demoted. Having the solutions to how you would adapt in worst case scenarios is comforting.

Step 6: Make saving a habit. It might be difficult, but it will pay off when you see your debt decrease and your savings increase!

Watch this brief YouTube clip for additional information: