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If you’re a homeowner getting ready to move, one question usually comes first: should you buy your next home before you sell, or sell your current house before you start looking?
There’s no single right answer. The best call depends on your finances, your local market, and your timeline. And a trusted agent can help you weigh all of it.
But in a lot of cases these days, selling first puts you in the stronger spot.
Selling is usually the trickier half of a move today, so getting it done first clears your biggest hurdle. And that’s especially true right now, because there are more homes for sale than there are buyers, which means houses are taking longer to sell than they did a year or two ago.
So how does leading with your sale pay off? Let’s start with the money.
Buy before you sell, and you could end up carrying two mortgages at once. And especially since houses are staying on the market longer these days, that overlap may drag on for more time than you’d planned. And if unexpected repairs come up, it could get even more expensive.
Selling first takes that risk off the table, so you’re not multitasking homeownership. As Ramsey Solutions puts it:
“It’s best to sell your old home before buying a new one to avoid unnecessary risks and possible headaches.“
This is always true, but one of the biggest perks of selling first is that you’ll know exactly how much money you’re walking away with. And one of the big figures that matters in that conversation is how much equity you have in your current place.
Equity is basically your house’s value minus what you still owe on your mortgage. And it adds up fast. According to Realtor.com, homeowners who’ve been in their home for 5 years have about $180,000 in equity on average. And those who’ve had their home for 6-10 years? They have over $340,000.
After you sell, you can use that money to cover your down payment or even buy your next home in cash. And knowing that profit up front helps you plan your next move.
When your house is already sold, you don’t have to make your offer contingent on that sale. In a market where buyers are taking their time, that’s exactly what a seller wants to see.
Picture it from the seller’s side. If their house has been sitting for a while, they’ll gravitate toward the offer most likely to close without a snag.
That can also give you room to ask for a little more, like repairs, since a motivated seller would rather keep things moving than lose you and wait for another offer to come in. Your agent can help you make the most of your upper hand in that scenario.
Selling first has its tradeoffs too, and it helps to see the pros and cons side by side before you decide. Here’s a quick breakdown based on information from Zillow (see visual below):
The cons are manageable with the right plan, so talk about them with your agent. They can help you negotiate things like a rent-back, where you stay in your house for a set time after closing, or line up flexible closing dates to keep the transition smooth.
There’s no one-size-fits-all answer to buying and selling at once. But for a lot of homeowners, leading with the sale makes moving easier on their mind and their wallet.
Connect with a local agent, and they’ll help you navigate selling and buying with more confidence, more financial power, and less stress.
If buying a home is on your radar, you’ve probably been keeping an eye on mortgage rates and home prices. But don’t forget about homeowners insurance.
Homeowners insurance has always been part of owning a home. But over the past few years, it’s become a larger expense for many homeowners – something that’s especially frustrating when affordability already feels tight.
The good news? While premiums are still rising, the latest data shows those increases are beginning to slow. Here’s what buyers should know.
You’ve probably heard stories from friends or family about their premiums going up. And that’s not really a surprise when you consider data from the Pew Research Center shows 71% of homeowners say their insurance costs have gone up over the past few years.
While no one likes rising costs, knowing what to expect can help you plan ahead. Your first insurance payment is typically included in your closing costs, but after that it’ll become part of your monthly housing expenses.
Getting an insurance quote early can help you build a more realistic budget and avoid surprises later.
Most of the headlines focus on how home insurance is getting more expensive. And that’s true. But here’s the part that’s easy to miss.
Insurance premiums are still rising.
But they’re not rising as fast as they were.
According to the latest report from Rate Insurance, 2025 saw the first slowdown in annual premium increases since 2019 (see graph below):
That doesn’t mean premiums are getting cheaper. It simply means the rapid increases of the past several years may finally be starting to ease – a small but welcome step in the right direction.
But what you’ll pay in one part of the country can look very different from what someone pays somewhere else.
Insurance costs vary because some parts of the country experience more claims than others. That’s why it’s important to look at what’s happening locally.
Your premium will depend on things like where you’re buying, the home itself, and the coverage you choose.
Forbes data can give a rough idea of your state’s typical premiums. Check out the map below – the darker the blue, the higher the costs tend to be in that state:
While you can’t control every cost that comes with buying a home, you can control how prepared you are. If you’re crunching the numbers and trying to find ways to save, Insurify and NerdWallet offer these tips that can help you get the best insurance price possible:
Shop Around – Compare quotes from multiple companies.
Bundle Policies – Combine home and auto to see if a bundle price is cheaper.
Ask If There Are Discounts – Don’t miss out on savings you may qualify for.
Highlight Upgrades – Features like a new roof or storm windows can cut costs.
Improve Your Credit – A stronger credit score can mean better premiums.
One of the smartest things you can do is get an insurance quote before you make an offer. That way, you’ll know what your monthly housing costs are likely to be before you commit.
An insurance professional can walk you through your options and help you find coverage that fits both your needs and your budget.
Homeowners insurance has become a bigger part of the homebuying conversation. But it doesn’t have to become a bigger source of stress.
The key is knowing what to expect before you buy. Get an insurance quote early, factor it into your budget, and lean on trusted local professionals to help you make the most informed decision possible.
After more than a year of headlines talking about how home prices are going to crash, the latest data shows that price growth may be starting to pick back up again. And depending on whether you’re buying or selling, that shift means something different for you.
For the past couple of years, home price growth has been moderating – cooling from around 7% in mid-2024, according to Redfin (see graph below). But look at the right side of that graph. The pace of that growth appears to have hit its low point and started to turn.
While a couple months of data doesn’t necessarily mean this will be a lasting trend, there are some other signs that this could continue.
For example, fewer markets are seeing prices decline. According to ResiClub and Zillow, about 36% of the 300 largest housing markets had falling prices as of the middle of last year. Since the start of this year, that share has been shrinking. Now? Only 23% are experiencing those mild dips (see graph below):
When fewer markets see prices falling, that means more markets are seeing prices rise again.
And forecasts suggest this shift has room to run. On average, experts project home prices will rise about 2.3% nationally this year. And for that to happen, price growth would have to pick up a bit in the second half of 2026.
While it looks like national prices may be starting to pick back up a tiny bit, that doesn’t mean that’s what’s happening in your neighborhood.
National home prices are really just an average of hundreds of local markets. Some are climbing faster. Others are still cooling. But one reason the national average may be looking up is because a growing number of metros may actually be net positive for prices this year.
Not long ago, the major metros were split about 50/50 – half seeing prices rise and half seeing them fall. Now, that balance looks like it’s starting to tip in a more positive direction. Just last month, more than half of the major metros saw prices go up, according to Redfin (see graph below):
As Selma Hepp, Chief Economist at Cotality, explains:
“. . . local markets continue to tell very different stories. Annual home price growth has changed little since the start of the year, but some markets, especially those supported by strong job and income growth in the West and more affordable Midwest markets, have seen notable acceleration in price gains.”
Home price headlines can be confusing because they don’t always tell the full picture. Lean on an agent to understand what’s happening in your local market and what the early signs say for where prices may go from here.
That’s the best way to stay one step ahead of the market.
If you’re buying: slower price growth has worked in your favor. You’ve had more room to negotiate and a budget you could plan around. If price growth is picking up in your area, buying now may mean paying less than you would later this year.
If you own a home: you’ve been gaining equity all along, even while growth moderated. If growth keeps picking up, those gains could speed up, too. Lawrence Yun, Chief Economist at the National Association of Realtors (NAR), projects the typical homeowner will gain roughly $16,000 in housing wealth this year. And if you’re thinking about selling, this shift is a good early sign for you. Just remember, the market is still pretty balanced and buyer-friendly in a lot of areas right now.
Home price growth slowed way down, and now it’s showing early signs of picking back up. Whether you’re buying or selling, let’s connect so you can see exactly what prices are doing in our local market and what that means for your plans.
Home price growth slowed way down, and now it’s showing early signs of picking back up. Whether you’re buying or selling, connect with a local real estate agent so you can see exactly what prices are doing in your local market and what that means for your plans.
According to Google Trends, online searches for down payment information recently hit an all-time high. And that’s a clear sign more buyers are trying to figure out what they really need to save before making a move (see graph below):
If you’re wondering the same thing, you can always turn to the internet for answers. But a lot of the time, it’s better to ask a local expert. Because here’s what a pro would tell you.
The idea that you need 20% down to buy a home is one of the biggest misconceptions around the homebuying process. And the data debunks the myth.
While there are benefits to putting that much money down, most first-time buyers put down far less.
Here’s why. Unless it’s stated by your lender, you typically don’t have to have a 20% down payment. There are even some loan options designed to help you get into a home with a much smaller upfront cost. As the Mortgage Reports explains:
“The amount you need to put down will depend on a variety of factors, including the loan type and your financial goals. If you don’t have a large down payment saved up, don’t worry—there are plenty of options available, and you don’t need to put down the traditional 20% . . . many homebuyers are able to secure a home with as little as 3% or even no down payment at all . . .”
For example, FHA loans allow down payments as low as 3.5%, while VA and USDA loans offer zero down payment options for qualified applicants, like Veterans.
And those options are just one reason so many first-time buyers are able to buy without a 20% down payment.
So, if buyers aren’t doing 20%, how much do they actually put down?
According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), the median down payment for first-time homebuyers is only 10%. That’s half of what you probably expected.
That means if you’re aiming to save 20% because you think you have to, you may be setting a timeline that’s longer than necessary.
And here’s some more good news. It’s not only that you may be able to buy with less money down than you thought, but there are also options to help you get to your down payment goal even faster.
There are a lot of programs designed to help you save for a down payment – and they can make a big difference in how fast you hit your savings target. Unfortunately, buyers don’t realize how many there are, or that they may qualify for help.
Research from Realtor.com shows almost 80% of first-time homebuyers qualify for down payment assistance (DPA), but only 13% actually use it (see chart below):
And that’s another big miss holding would-be buyers like you back.
In the U.S., there are over 2,600 homeownership programs available, many offering significant financial support. As Down Payment Resource shares:
“With an average benefit of $18,000, down payment assistance (DPA) remains one of the most essential tools for addressing the nation’s affordability challenges. Programs continue to expand in scope, serving a broader range of incomes, property types and borrower needs, including first-generation, military and repeat buyers.”
Imagine how much further your savings could go with an extra $18,000 you can use to buy. In some cases, you may even be able to stack multiple programs, giving what you’ve saved an even bigger boost.
The simple truth is: most first-time buyers don’t put 20% down. And if you’ve been waiting to buy until you have that saved, you may be setting a timeline that’s longer than necessary.
To find out what you really need to save and if you qualify for any help, connect with a trusted lender who can walk you through your options. You may be able to buy sooner than you thought.
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There’s a lot of uncertainty right now and that’s leading to some dramatic headlines. And if you’re thinking about buying a home, that can make you feel a little less sure about your decision.
A recent study by CNBC asked homebuyers what they’re most worried about, and three themes kept coming up again and again:
But a lot of what you may be hearing on those is based more on misconceptions. Not facts. So, let’s break it down and separate fact from fiction.
One idea doing its rounds on social is that mortgage rates are going to drop dramatically soon. So, it’s better to wait to buy.
But is that really what’s expected?
While mortgage rates have come down a bit in the last few weeks, forecasts don’t show a major drop ahead. The most likely scenario is that rates stay somewhere in the low 6% range this year.
And that’s not a big change from where rates are now (see graph below):
Of course, this depends on where inflation and the economy go from here. But, based on what we know today, waiting for a big drop in rates may not work out the way some people hope. As U.S. News explains:
“Mortgage rates aren’t expected to change much over the next several quarters . . .”
Not to mention, even with rates where they are today, it’s already more affordable than a year ago. So, even if they don’t change much, it’s still better than it was.
You’ve probably heard inventory is up. And nationally, it is. The number of homes for sale is 8% higher than this time last year. But that’s not a bad thing. In fact, it’s one of the reasons buyers have a bit more breathing room right now.
The problem is the headlines are making something good, sound bad. They’re focusing on how this is the most inventory we’ve had since 2019 or how many homes builders are building. And that can make it sound like the number of homes for sale is rising too far, too fast.
But that’s not what the bigger picture shows.
Data from Realtor.com proves that, even though inventory is up compared to last year, it’s still nearly 14% lower than it was during the last normal housing market (2017-2019):
While it can vary a lot based on where you live, only 9 states have more inventory than pre-pandemic today. That’s a key reason why there still aren’t enough homes for sale to trigger something like the crash back in 2008.
You’ve probably seen this one, too. The confusion is coming from the fact that some metros are experiencing slight price declines. And influencers are running with that and saying prices are crashing. But that’s not the reality.
Most areas are seeing prices rise, not fall. And that’s because:
And those are 3 big reasons prices aren’t headed for a crash.
And even in the markets experiencing mild declines, the drops aren’t enough to cancel out the big gains most homeowners have seen in the last 5 years (see graph below):
That’s not a crash. That’s just prices moderating after a few record-breaking years.
Online posts are going to make things sound worse than they are. If you want a true, data-bound look at what’s really happening in today’s market, lean on a real estate agent.
Connect with a local agent so you have someone to separate fact from fiction today.
Did you try to buy a home last year, but you ended up pressing pause?
Maybe you couldn’t find a home that really fit your needs. Or maybe the ones you liked just weren’t affordable. According to a recent survey from NerdWallet, those were the top two reasons buyers gave up on their search in 2025.
But this Spring, there’s one trend that could help fix both of those frustration points: more homes are hitting the market.
Data from Realtor.com shows there are nearly 2x as many new listings hitting the market today as there were just 3 months ago. Those are homes the seller just put up for sale (see graph below):
That’s a significant rise. And while we usually see an uptick as we head into the busiest time of the year, this increase was bigger than normal. Jake Krimmel, Senior Economist at Realtor.com, explains:
“New listings jumped 21.2% from February to 439,000, a larger-than-typical seasonal surge . . . March typically sees the biggest month-over-month jump in new listings of the entire buying season, averaging an 18% increase since 2017; this year it exceeded 20%.”
That means more sellers are jumping back into the market, and that’s giving buyers more fresh options to choose from. So, if you’d felt like you’d seen everything out there and still nothing was quite right, this may be your moment.
With that many “just listed” homes, one of them could be exactly what you’ve been searching for.
And this trend is happening across most of the country, so you should have more options pretty much whereever you are.
Earlier this year, the Northeast had fewer new listings because winter storms delayed sellers from putting their homes on the market. But now, that region is catching up fast.
In March, new listings jumped across nearly every state, especially in the Northeast, helping drive a strong national rebound.
Right now, there are almost a million homes for sale nationwide. That’s up over 8% compared to last year.
With that many homes on the market, there’s a much better chance something will fit what you’re looking for, especially with so many fresh options being added right now. As Odeta Kushi, Deputy Chief Economist at First American, explains:
“One of the most encouraging signals heading into the spring home-buying season is the improvement in for-sale inventory levels compared with last year. . . More homes on the market give buyers greater choice and, combined with improved buying power, expand the range of homes they can realistically consider.”
In other words, your search may feel very different this year.
More fresh listings are hitting the market right now, and that’s creating real opportunity.
If you put your search on hold last year, this Spring may be the time to jump back in. Connect with a local real estate agent to see what’s newly available in your area.
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