With fewer homes on the market to purchase, low interest rates keeping buyers intrigued, and home prices continuing to rise, experts say it is a seller’s market right now.

In its recent analysis, real estate marketplace Realtor.com finds homes are selling 7% faster than last year while home prices are breaking records. In April 2016, homes for sale spent a median 68 days between listing and contract, five days fewer than the same month in 2015. Six days faster than in March.

Even though sellers are asking more for their homes, homes are selling at a faster pace. The median listing price in April was $245,000 – up 9% from last April and 2% higher than March. Inventory has slightly increased but is still down from a year ago.

The chief economist at Realtor.com says with housing demand up, strong employment rates across the country, and lower mortgage rates, we are in a strong and healthy real estate market – better than we’ve seen in a decade.

Realtor.com also reported that the top housing markets are seeing homes sell 17 to 45 days faster than the rest of the country. San Francisco, the nation’s most expensive housing market, leads the “hot” list. The median home there spends only 25 days on the market.

Here’s the “hot” list:

1. San Francisco, CA
2. Vallejo, CA
3. Denver, CO
4. Santa Cruz, CA
5. Dallas, TX
6. San Jose, CA
7. Santa Rosa, CA
8. Sacramento, CA
9. San Diego, CA
10. Stockton, CA
11. Colorado Springs, CO
12. Oxnard, CA
13. Eureka, CA
14. Modesto, CA
15. Raleigh, NC
16. Boston, MA
17. Los Angeles, CA
18. Boulder, CO
19. San Luis Obispo, CA
20. Lafayette, IN

If you’re ready to jump into the market in Maui, give me a call. We can get the process started today!

Sources: Consumer Affairs & Realtor.com (obtained May 2016)

Purchasing a home is a huge investment and a big decision! One of the questions I get asked often is, “How much house do you think I can afford?”

Your buying power is generally based on:

• Income
• Current debt
• Credit score
• How much you have for a down payment
• What kind of property you’re interested in
• The area you’re looking in

That’s a lot of different factors! To get you on the road to figuring out how much you can really afford in Maui, here are some helpful tips and tools:

Set A Realistic Monthly Budget

The percentage can vary, but most experts agree that you should spend no more than 20-30% of your total monthly income on mortgage costs. That leaves you well balanced for other expenses such as a car payment, necessities, utilities, other debt, savings, and, don’t forget… maintaining the home when things need fixing!

To get an idea of how much you can afford, try our “Discover Your Buying Power” tool.

Determine Your Down Payment

Generally speaking, the bigger the down payment, the more home you can afford. You’ll need to consider whether you’ve saved a chunk of money for the down payment or if you’ll use money from the sale of another home. Ideally, you will put down 20% of the cost of the home to avoid paying additional insurance premiums. But there are plenty of loan options out there that can help those with little down payment amounts too.

Figure Out the Maximum House Price For Your Budget

Now that you know the maximum monthly amount you can set aside for a mortgage and how much you have for a down payment, start crunching some numbers.

By using our mortgage calculator, you can start getting an idea of the loan amount you can afford.

Hire the Pros

After getting an estimate of your buying power, it is time to start getting serious about finding a new home! You’ll need a strong team of real estate agent and loan officer for the buyer’s advantage. If you’re ready to get started, ask me for a free consultation.

I’ll be happy to crunch the numbers for you and work with you along the way to your new home.

Sources: The Wall Street Journal, Interest.com, and Salted Stone