Newsletter, 6/12/2020

Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers

Characteristics of Home Buyers

First-time buyers made up 33% of all home buyers, holding steady from last year’s 33%.
The typical buyer was 47 years old this year, and the median household income for 2018 rose again this year to $93,200.
12% of home buyers purchased a multi-generational home, to take care of aging parents, because of children over the age of 18 moving back home, and for cost-saving.
20% of recent home buyers were veterans and 3% were active-duty service members.

Characteristics of Homes Purchased

Most recent buyers who purchased new homes were looking to avoid renovations and problems with plumbing or electricity at 39%. Buyers who purchased previously-owned homes were most often considering a better overall value at 33%.
Home prices increased slightly this year to a median of $257,000 among all buyers. Buyers typically purchased their homes for 98% of the asking price.
The typical home that was recently purchased was 1,850 square feet, had three bedrooms and two bathrooms, and was built in 1990.
Heating and cooling costs were the most important environmental features for recent home buyers, with 85% ﬁnding these features at least somewhat important.

Ralene Nelson, REALTOR®

FOR SALE – 2131 Saint Andrews Dr, Rio Vista 2bd/2-1/2bths 2337sf

Islander model on the 16th fairway, located in the Active Adult Community, Trilogy at Rio Vista. New interior paint, carpet and new tile in the master bath, just bring your furniture to this gorgeous home and watch the beautiful sunsets. Gorgeous kitchen for the gourmet cook, gas cooktop, 2 built-in ovens & trash compactor. Cherry cabinets & granite slab counters, the island provides space for bar stools. Nook in kitchen overlooks the 16th fairway & patio.
READ MORE

FOR SALE – 733 Brookside Ln. Rio Vista, 2bds/2-1/2bth/2567sf

Lovely Yountville model with Solar is located in the Trilogy Active Adult Community. Home boasts of charm with decorator colors. Tile floors, fireplace, french slider & shutters create a cozy great room. Kitchen is a chef’s delight with granite counters, Tile backsplash, 5 burner gas stovetop, island for prepping & Reverse Osmosis. Butler area provides pantry & serving Space for your chef. The second bath has been upgraded with a walk-in shower & 1/2 bath with sink/cabinet. The Master bedroom has a spacious built-in that provides a lot of storage. Master bathtub has been removed and custom cabinet added in space & closet been customized.
READ MORE

57 really fun things you can do at home this weekend

1. Host a games night

Bored of yet another pub quiz? We feel ya. Organizing a games night is a sure-fire way to keep the whole family or your friendship group entertained this weekend. Here are a few tips…

Assign someone the ‘happy hour host’ and ask them to give a live cocktail masterclass
Assign ‘drinking games masters’ and ask them to orchestrate some drinking games and forfeits
Play a good old game of charades
Get one person to mute themselves and mime phrases and see who can read their lips the best
Ask guests to submit a surprising fact about themselves beforehand and see who can guess which fact correlates to which person on the Zoom
Play a good old game of Bingo. Ask everyone to mock up their own Bingo card based on a Google template and use this number generator to kick things off.

Bored of quizzes? Same. Here’s how to host a brilliant virtual games night this Bank Holiday weekend

2. Download Disney +

If you’ve not got your hands on a Disney+ UK subscription yet, now is most definitely the time. Brits finally have access to a library of all the Disney for the first time ever, from popular classics (Dumbo, we <3 you) to TV shows and new releases. And if you sign up now, you can get a seven-day free trial. That’s seven days of FREE DISNEY to enjoy while you self isolate and relax. Dreamy.

3. Bake beyond banana bread

Bored of banana bread? Same. Thankfully expert bakers, Eloise Frank and Adam Chaudhri, who co-founded The Big Bakes, are sharing a secret recipe each week to help Brits replicate some of the UK’s favorite high street snacks at home. First up was Millie’s Cookies. Keep an eye on their Instagram page.

4. Whip up a lockdown bath

People have been taking to Instagram, TikTok and Facebook to showcase their delightfully smug isolation baths replete with bath bombs, candles and comforting beauty buys. These are our tried-and-tested ways to perfecting the art of the lockdown bath.

Yes, we are missing Saturday nights at the pub, too. Thank goodness, then, that Pull The Cork has teamed up with Elliot Awin to host virtual wine tasting sessions via Instagram live. All you need to do is order one of the isolation cases on Pull The Cork’s website and sip along at the weekend. Elliot really makes an event of his sessions, inviting famous faces and winemakers to join the live as he talks guests through the various wines; he’s even started sharing recipes for food pairings ahead of time.

Prefer cocktails? On May 20th, Moët Hennessy will host its first Virtual Spirits Summer Cocktail Masterclass on Instagram Live via Clos19.com. The masterclass will be hosted by UK’s Belvedere Brand Ambassador, Mark Tracey, and bartender at the American Bar at the Savoy, Jake O’Brien Murphy, and take viewers through four refreshing cocktails.

See the other 52 really fun things you can do at home this weekend…

Summer Home-Buying Season Heats Up as Prices Surge

As the summer home-buying season gets underway, median home prices are surging. They shot up 4.3% year over year as the number of homes for sale continued to dry up in the week ending June 6, according to a recent realtor.com® report

Mortgage Rates Were Rising, Then Hit a Record Low of 2.9 Percent

Anyone who’s planning to buy a home, or thinking about refinancing the loan on their current abode, has probably been giving mortgage interest rates a lot of attention—and getting frustrated as they fluctuate up and down.

The average interest rate for the most common type of loan hit a new all-time low of 2.94% on Thursday, according to Mortgage News Daily. That’s for a fixed-rate 30-year loan. While that’s great news for borrowers, who can potentially save hundreds of dollars a month as a result, rates may not stay below 3% for long.