Check US out on The Negotiators Check US out on The Negotiators  Broker Jeff Welcome to The Poconos!We would like to introduce ourselves. Our names are Jeff and Heather Rickert. We have personally invested in real estate since 2000 and, as A Broker and Negotiator, we specialize in the Poconos of Pennsylvania, where we help buyers and sellers of investment properties and vacation homes. We were flippers before we were Negotiators so we see the process differently. Jeff & Heather have been a residents of Monroe County since 2001. We are natives of the Souderton and North Penn School District in the suburbs of Philadelphia. Let us bring our technology, drone, 360 camera and digital camera as well as our marketing staff to buy or sell your home. We made our passion our profession! See you ... 12/02/2022

                  3 Miles to the Slopes at Big Boulder Mountain!5 Minute Drive to Pocono RacewayRequest A Bare Bones Stripped Down Quote to Book This Property By Booking Directly With a Licensed Local Real Estate Brokerage and Avoid Having to Pay Those Pesky Traveler Fees to Sites Like AirBNB and VRBO!! Email for quote: office@poconomountainlakes.comRemember to include how many adults and kids, checkin and checkout dates and property ID# BCW 1170  11/29/2022

Why a Home Inspection Is Important Some Highlights If you’re buying a home, here’s what you should know about your home inspection and why it’s so important. A home inspection is a crucial step in the homebuying process. It assesses the condition of the home you plan to purchase so you can avoid costly surprises down the road. Let’s connect so you have an expert on your side to guide you through the process. 08/21/2022

Planning To Retire? Your Equity Can Help You Reach Your Goal. Whether you’ve just retired or you’re thinking about retirement, you may be considering your options and trying to picture a whole new stage of your life. And you’re not alone. Research from the Retirement Industry Trust Association (RITA) shows 10,000 Baby Boomers reach the typical retirement age (65) every day, and only 47% of the people in that generation have already retired. If this sounds like you, one thing worth considering is whether or not your current home will suit your new lifestyle. If your home doesn’t have the features or benefits you’re looking for, the good news is, you may be in a better position to move than you realize. That’s because, if you already own a home, you’ve likely built-up significant equity, ... 08/21/2022

Experts Increase 2022 Home Price Projections If you’re wondering if home prices are going to come down due to the cooldown in the housing market or a potential recession, here’s what you need to know. Not only are experts forecasting home prices will continue to appreciate nationwide this year, but most of them also actually increased their projections for home price appreciation from their original 2022 forecasts (shown in green in the chart below): As the chart shows, most sources adjusted up, and now call for more appreciation in 2022 than they originally projected this January. But why are experts so confident the housing market will see ongoing appreciation? It’s because of supply and demand in most markets. As Bankrate says: “After all, supplies of homes for sale remain near recor... 08/21/2022

What Would a Recession Mean for the Housing Market? According to a recent survey from the Wall Street Journal, the percentage of economists who believe we’ll see a recession in the next 12 months is growing. When surveyed in July 2021, only 12% of economists consulted thought there’d be a recession by now. But this July, when polled, 49% believe we will see a recession in the coming 12 months. And as more recession talk fills the air, one concern many people have is: should I delay my homeownership plans if there’s a recession? Here’s a look at historical data to show what happened in real estate during previous recessions to help prove why you shouldn’t be afraid of what a recession would mean for the housing market today. A Recession Doesn’t Mean Falling Home Prices To show that home ... 08/21/2022

The U.S. Homeownership Rate Is Growing The desire to own a home is still strong today. In fact, according to the Census, the U.S. homeownership rate is on the rise. To illustrate the increase, the graph below shows the homeownership rate over the last year: That data shows more than half of the U.S. population live in a home they own, and the percentage is growing with time. If you’re thinking about buying a home this year, here are just a few reasons why so many people see the value of homeownership. Why Are More People Becoming Homeowners? There are several benefits to owning your home. A significant one, especially when inflation is high like it is today, is that homeownership can help protect you from rising costs. Lawrence Yun, Chief Economist at the National Association of Realtor... 08/21/2022

Why Are People Moving Today? Buying a home is a major life decision. That’s true whether you’re purchasing for the first time or selling your house to fuel a move. And if you’re planning to buy a home, you might be hearing about today’s shifting market and wondering what it means for you. While mortgage rates are higher than they were at the start of the year and home prices are rising, you shouldn’t put your plans on hold based solely on market factors. Instead, it’s necessary to consider why you want to move and how important those reasons are to you. Here are two of the biggest personal motivators driving people to buy homes today. A Need for More Space Moving.com looked at migration patterns to determine why people moved to specific areas. One trend that emerged was the need for add... 08/14/2022

3 Graphs To Show This Isn’t a Housing Bubble With all the headlines and buzz in the media, some consumers believe the market is in a housing bubble. As the housing market shifts, you may be wondering what’ll happen next. It’s only natural for concerns to creep in that it could be a repeat of what took place in 2008. The good news is, there’s concrete data to show why this is nothing like the last time. There’s a Shortage of Homes on the Market Today, Not a Surplus The supply of inventory needed to sustain a normal real estate market is approximately six months. Anything more than that is an overabundance and will causes prices to depreciate. Anything less than that is a shortage and will lead to continued price appreciation. For historical context, there were too many homes for sale dur... 08/14/2022

Buying a Home May Make More Financial Sense Than Renting One If rising home prices leave you wondering if it makes more sense to rent or buy a home in today’s housing market, consider this. It’s not just home prices that have risen in recent years – rental prices have skyrocketed as well. As a recent article from realtor.com says: “The median rent across the 50 largest US metropolitan areas reached $1,876 in June, a new record level for Realtor.com data for the 16th consecutive month.” That means rising prices will likely impact your housing plans either way. But there are a few key differences that could make buying a home a more worthwhile option for you. If You Need More Space, Buying a Home May Be More Affordable What you may not realize is that, according to the latest data from re... 08/14/2022

Why It’s Still a Sellers’ Market As there’s more and more talk about the real estate market cooling off from the peak frenzy it saw during the pandemic, you may be questioning what that means for your plans to sell your house. If you’re thinking of making a move, you should know the market is still anything but normal. Even though the supply of homes for sale has been growing this year, there’s still a shortage of homes on the market. And that means conditions continue to favor sellers today. That’s because the level of inventory of homes for sale can help determine if buyers or sellers are in the driver’s seat. Think of it like this: A buyers’ market is when there are more homes for sale than buyers looking to buy. When that happens, buyers have the negotiation power because sellers ar... 08/14/2022

Why Experts Say the Housing Market Won’t Crash Some Highlights Many people remember the housing crash in 2008, but experts say today’s market is fundamentally different in many ways. First, there isn’t an oversupply of homes for sale today. Plus, lending standards are much tighter, and homeowners have record levels of equity. That means signs say there won’t be a wave of foreclosures like the last time. If you have questions about the housing market, let’s connect. 08/14/2022

What Does the Rest of the Year Hold for Home Prices? Whether you’re a potential homebuyer, seller, or both, you probably want to know: will home prices fall this year? Let’s break down what’s happening with home prices, where experts say they’re headed, and why this matters for your homeownership goals. Last Year’s Rapid Home Price Growth Wasn’t the Norm In 2021, home prices appreciated quickly. One reason why is that record-low mortgage rates motivated more buyers to enter the market. As a result, there were more people looking to make a purchase than there were homes available for sale. That led to competitive bidding wars which drove prices up. CoreLogic helps explain how unusual last year’s appreciation was: “Price appreciation averaged 15% for the full year of 2021, up from the 202... 08/14/2022

Is the Shifting Market a Challenge or an Opportunity for Homebuyers? If you tried to buy a home during the pandemic, you know the limited supply of homes for sale was a considerable challenge. It created intense bidding wars which drove home prices up as buyers competed with one another to be the winning offer. But what was once your greatest challenge may now be your greatest opportunity. Today, data shows buyer demand is moderating in the wake of higher mortgage rates. Here are a few reasons why this shift in the housing market is good news for your homebuying plans. The Challenge There were many reasons for the limited number of homes on the market during the pandemic, including a history of underbuilding new homes since the market crash in 2008. As the graph below shows, housing sup... 08/14/2022

Why the Forbearance Program Changed the Housing Market When the pandemic hit in 2020, many experts thought the housing market would crash. They feared job loss and economic uncertainty would lead to a wave of foreclosures similar to when the housing bubble burst over a decade ago. Thankfully, the forbearance program changed that. It provided much-needed relief for homeowners so a foreclosure crisis wouldn’t happen again. Here’s why forbearance worked. Forbearance enabled nearly five million homeowners to get back on their feet in a time when having the security and protection of a home was more important than ever. Those in need were able to work with their banks and lenders to stay in their homes rather than go into foreclosure. Marina Walsh, Vice President of Industry Analysis at the ... 08/14/2022

Selling Your House? Your Asking Price Matters More Now Than Ever There’s no doubt about the fact that the housing market is slowing from the frenzy we saw over the past two years. But what does that mean for you if you’re thinking of selling your house? While home prices are still appreciating in most markets and experts say that will continue, they’re climbing at a slower pace because rising mortgage rates are creating less buyer demand. Because of this, there are more homes on the market. And in a shift like this one, the way you price your home matters more than ever. Why Today’s Housing Market Is Different During the pandemic, sellers could price their homes higher because demand was so high, and supply was so low. This year, things are shifting, and that means your approach to pric... 08/14/2022

Housing Market Forecast for the Rest of 2022 Some Highlights The housing market is shifting away from the intensity of the past two years. Here’s what experts project for the remainder of 2022. Home prices are forecast to rise more moderately than last year. Mortgage rates will respond to inflation, and home sales will be more in line with pre-pandemic years. Let’s connect so you can make your best move this year. 08/14/2022

A Window of Opportunity for Homebuyers Mortgage rates are much higher today than they were at the beginning of the year, and that’s had a clear impact on the housing market. As a result, the market is seeing a shift back toward the range of pre-pandemic levels for buyer demand and home sales. But the transition back toward pre-pandemic levels isn’t a bad thing. In fact, the years leading up to the pandemic were some of the best the housing market has seen. That’s why, as the market undergoes this shift, it’s important to compare today not to the abnormal pandemic years, but to the most recent normal years to show how the current housing market is still strong. Higher Mortgage Rates Are Moderating the Housing Market  The ShowingTime Showing Index tracks the traffic of home showings acco... 07/31/2022

What’s Causing Ongoing Home Price Appreciation? If you’re thinking about making a move, you probably want to know what’s going to happen to home prices for the rest of the year. While experts say price growth will moderate due to the shifting market, ongoing appreciation is expected. That means home prices won’t fall. Here’s a look at two key reasons experts forecast continued price growth: supply and demand. While Growing, Housing Supply Is Still Low Even though inventory is increasing this year as the market moderates, supply is still low. The graph below helps tell the story of why there still aren’t enough homes on the market today. It uses data from the Census to show the number of single-family homes that were built in this country going all the way back to the 1970s. The blue ba... 07/31/2022

Great News About Housing Inventory Some Highlights Experts say the number of homes for sale is growing this year, and that can have a big impact on your move. If you’re planning to buy, additional options in today’s market may be just what you’ve been waiting for. More inventory means added opportunities to find the home of your dreams. Let’s connect so you have the latest information on available homes in our area. 07/31/2022