Letters from Santa

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Santa Letters are back! We had such a great response from our favorite little fans last year. We're excited to announce we're doing it again this year.

It's simple! Fill out the form in the body of this email. Write a letter to your son, daughter, niece, nephew, or grandkids. They will get a personalized letter on Santa's stationary straight from the North Pole!

The kids love it. Fill everything out by December 15th, so your loved one will get the letter in time for the holidays. We had a bunch last year, and we want to make sure we get everybody's out there.

Thanks for participating in Santa Letters! As always, if you have any questions, give us a call or send us an email. We would be happy to help you!

Please download the Request Form (see link below) and send it back to us at amber@robbiebreaux.com OR call us at (337) 267-4099..

Download the Request Form here >>

What's Happening with the Lafayette Real Estate Market?

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Today we're here with a quick market update on the third quarter in 2015.

Overall, September's numbers look pretty good. There was a little dip in the number of closed units from 2014 to 2015. Last year we had 289 closed units, and this year we had 266 closed units, which is about an 8% decrease.

On the other hand, the number of pending transactions is up 12% from October of 2014. Last year we had 277 pending transactions, and this October saw 308 pending transactions. This is a good barometer of what our market will look like for the rest of the year.

Listings are also up from 300 new listings in 2014 to 413 new listings this year, which means there are a lot of good options out there for buyers to look at right now.

The average sales price in Lafayette is also up from $221,400 in 2014 to $227,900 this year, which is a good increase in home value.

Overall, our market is very strong. We have 4.2 months of inventory on the market for buyers to look at, and interest rates are still strong at around 4%. Some lenders are even able to get a 3.8% rate on 30 year fixed loans, FHA, VA, and rural development loans. Our preferred partners are very aggressive on getting low interest rates and low closing costs.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to give us a call or send us an email. We would be happy to help you!

Lending Advice for Home Buyers in Lafayette

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Today I want to speak about the lending process and some of the best practices that you should be aware of when you work with them.

One of the most important things that you can do is to keep all lines of communication open with your agent and the lender. This will speed up the time of your transaction and make it much less stressful. The quicker you can get documents to your lender, the quicker you can close the transaction.

At a minimum, we speak with our lenders at least once per week, and sometimes we contact them two or more times. We think the determination between a bad lender and a good lender is the way they communicate with us and our clients.

If you would like to hear about some of our preferred lenders, please don't hesitate to contact us. We look forward to speaking with you!

Our Market is Looking Pretty Great

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We have been seeing some great signs in the Lafayette real estate market lately. Today we are going to run through the statistics for July and give you an update on those.

July's market statistics look really good. We have seen a 7.5% increase in units, a 13.5% increase in dollar volume, and a huge increase in new construction.

Another thing that's on the rise is our average sale price. It has gone up 5.5% and now sits at $268,500. Overall, our listing inventory is up 5% and new construction is down a little bit.

Right now, we are looking at a 4.5 month supply of inventory on homes listed under a million. The most activity in our market, however, is seen in the $150,000- $300,000 price range, where there is about 3-4 months of inventory.

Interest rates are still doing fantastic. A 30-year fixed rate can be had for 4% and 15-year fixed loans are even lower at about 3.375%.

Overall, the market looks really strong and there is a lot of movement. If you have any questions for us, we would love for you to give us a call or send us an email. We would be happy to help out!

How Do Fantastic Lafayette Market Conditions Affect You?

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Today, I share a full Lafayette market update for the first half of 2015. 

We've already had a little over 1,600 sales since January, which is up from the mid 1,500's in the same time frame last year. In total number of units sold, sales are up about 4% - while in dollar volume, sales are up 11%! This is likely due to a jump in average sales price, which went from $217,000 last year to $231,000 this year.

Despite all of these fantastic market trends, interest rates remain near record lows! The best way to get an idea of where our market is going to head moving forward is to look at pending sales. Currently, we had 340 homes that went under contract in Lafayette Parish in comparison to only 301 at this time last year. This is a difference of about 11%, and year-to-date we're a little over 4%. 

What does all of this mean for you? Well, it doesn't look like our market is going to slow down anytime soon. Inventory levels are healthy, and the market is active, making now a wonderful time to consider making your move.

If you have any questions about our market, don't hesitate to reach out to us. We're always here to help with your real estate needs. 

Are Home Inspections Important in Lafayette?

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Hey there everyone, today's topic is home inspections, and the importance of getting them done. So, we are now currently under contract with a buyer and seller who have agreed to terms and price. The next step is scheduling a home inspection, as well as a termite inspection. 

A general home inspector's job is to look for symptoms to see if a specialist is needed to address a larger problem, whether it's for the roof, plumbing, electrical, or other parts of the home. Once we get bids from all the specialists out there, we submit them to the seller to get them fixed. After this, one of three things will end up happening:

1. The seller will come off the house price
2. We can get cash in lieu of repairs
3. We can get them to fix the problem

Once we submit this to the seller, they have 72 hours to decide if they will do some, all, or none of the repairs. If they agree to do all, we proceed with financing. If they agree to do none or some of the repairs, you then have 72 hours as a buyer to decide whether you want to accept, reject, or counter. This continues until either we can get an agreement, or the contract dies.

If you have any questions for us about home inspections or anything else, give us a call or send us an email. We would love to help you out!

What Do Home Warranties Cover?

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Hey everyone, today we are excited to talk to you about home warranties! This is a topic our clients ask about a lot.

Basically, a home warranty is an insurance policy that covers major appliances, as well as roofing defects and electrical work in case of repair. Essentially, if something goes wrong with one of the items that's covered, you pay a small deductible, and the home warranty company will come out and fix it, as long as it is not a pre-existing condition. 

The last thing you want to have is a huge bill to replace an A/C unit or water heater, so we recommend that any time you purchase a home, a home warranty should be included. If you choose to work with us to sell your next home, we will provide free home warranty coverage for your home while we are listing it. 

If you have any questions, or are interested in buying or selling a home here in Lafayette, feel free to give me a call or send me an email. I can't wait to hear from you!

How to Handle Multiple Offer Situations When Selling Your Lafayette Home

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With the spring real estate season in full gear, there is no better time to discuss how to handle multiple offers when selling! 

From a seller's perspective, it really doesn't get much better than having multiple buyers making offers on your home. The first thing you need to do is take a look at the particular terms of each offer. Ask yourself the following questions when looking over offers:

• How much money is getting put down?
• What kind of deposit are they putting down? 
• Are they pre-approved?
• Is their financial institution credible in our market? 
• Are they considering a conventional loan or a government loan?
• What concessions are they willing to make? 

After answering these questions, you should be able to pick the best offer! We are experts at making your home attractive to the widest range of buyers and generating multiple offer situations for our listings. If you would like us to do the same for you, give us a call or shoot us a quick email. We would love to help you sell quickly and for top dollar! 

Where's the Lafayette Market Heading?

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Hello, and welcome back! Today, we're going to give you a quick update on where the Lafayette market is heading! 

The sales for Lafayette Parish are up 7% compared to where they were at this time in 2014. Since 2012, we've seen a 33% increase in home sales in our area! The average number of days on the market is hovering around 87, down from 93 at this time last year, and dollar volume is up 10.8%. In fact, since 2012, we've seen a jump in dollar volume of 58%! Additionally, the average sales price is up 3.5%, and the median sales price has risen to $195,000 from $187,000 last year. 

What do all these numbers mean for you? 

They mean that our market has not only recovered, it has caught fire! Pending sales contracts are up 20%, as we have 399 homes currently under contract, compared to only 333 this time last year. With a healthy five months of inventory, it's looking like our market will continue going strong through the summer.  

If you have any questions about market conditions in your particular area, or if you have real estate needs of any kind, give us a call or shoot us a quick email. We would love to help you take advantage of these stellar conditions! 

How to Avoid Losing the Lafayette Home of Your Dreams

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Today, I want share some advice on how to submit a powerful offer in a multiple offer situation.

When you're looking at a home that is getting attention from other buyers, there are a few things we can do to get a leg up on the competition. It's important to remember that not every multiple offer situation results in a bidding war. 

We pride ourselves on staying in touch with the listing agents on the other side to get inside information about what exactly is going on with negotiations. We're also experts at identifying what is most important to the sellers - whether it be price, negotiations, or something else entirely. 

Making yourself known as a buyer is key. Any way you can give the seller some insight into who you are and what your family is like will go a long way. Writing a handwritten note about why you want the home is a great and highly effective way to personalize the offer. We've seen it work in the past and highly recommend giving it a shot. 

If you have any questions about staying ahead of the competition in multiple offer situations, or if you need real estate assistance of any kind, don't hesitate to give me a call or shoot me an email. I would love to give you a hand! 

Why Now Is the Ideal Time to Make Your Move in Lafayette

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The numbers for February are in! Today, we take a look at what they mean for the health of the Lafayette market and what it means for you! 

Sales are about dead-even from where they were last year - we had 222 in February of 2014 and 228 in 2015, for a total increase of 2.7%. The most surprising trend is the appreciation we've seen, as the dollar volume has increased by 9% over this time last year. This is likely because more homes have sold in the $300,000 and above price range. 

We're really not seeing any signs that the market is going to slow down. We've seen a 6.5% increase in pending sales and a 17% increase in resale homes. On the other hand, new construction listings are down 22%, so you'll probably see fewer options out there if that's what you're looking to do.

Rates are still incredibly low, hovering around 4%. This is great news, as we were expecting rates to jump to around 5% by this time. If you have any questions about these ideal market conditions, or if you need real estate assistance of any kind, give us a call or shoot us a quick email. We look forward to hearing from you soon!