[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"$f19ybz0dx1sik3":3,"$ffeh0925h8cuz":51,"$f2emv3tus0uf1":55,"$fbwk2pqjjqsc7":59},{"item":4,"previous":39,"next":45},{"id":5,"slug":6,"title":7,"description":8,"excerpt":9,"contentType":10,"featuredImage":11,"bannerImage":9,"body":12,"agentsBottomLine":13,"bodyImage":14,"isInfographic":15,"categories":16,"isVideo":15,"videoThumbnail":9,"videoSource":9,"publishedAt":37,"updatedAt":38},3663,"the-big-question-should-you-renovate-or-move","The Big Question: Should You Renovate or Move?","The last 18 months changed what many buyers are looking for in a home. Recently, the \u003Cem>American Institute of Architects\u003C\u002Fem> released their \u003Ca href=\"http:\u002F\u002Finfo.aia.org\u002FAIArchitect\u002F2021\u002Freports\u002F2021-q3\u002F2021-Q3-Home-Design-Trends-Survey.pdf\">\u003Cem>AIA Home Design Trends Survey\u003C\u002Fem>\u003C\u002Fa> results for Q3 2021. The survey reveals the following:","","blog","https:\u002F\u002Ffiles.simplifyingthemarket.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2021\u002F10\u002F12131715\u002F20211013-KCM-Share.jpg","The last 18 months changed what many buyers are looking for in a home. Recently, the \u003Cem>American Institute of Architects\u003C\u002Fem> released their \u003Ca href=\"http:\u002F\u002Finfo.aia.org\u002FAIArchitect\u002F2021\u002Freports\u002F2021-q3\u002F2021-Q3-Home-Design-Trends-Survey.pdf\">\u003Cem>AIA Home Design Trends Survey\u003C\u002Fem>\u003C\u002Fa> results for Q3 2021. The survey reveals the following:\u003C!--more-->\r\n\u003Cul>\r\n \t\u003Cli>70% of respondents want more outdoor living space\u003C\u002Fli>\r\n \t\u003Cli>69% of respondents want a home office (48% wanted multiple offices)\u003C\u002Fli>\r\n \t\u003Cli>46% of respondents want a multi-function room\u002Fflexible space\u003C\u002Fli>\r\n \t\u003Cli>42% of respondents want an au pair\u002Fin-law suite\u003C\u002Fli>\r\n \t\u003Cli>39% of respondents want an exercise room\u002Fyoga space\u003C\u002Fli>\r\n\u003C\u002Ful>\r\nIf you’re a homeowner who wants to add any of the above, you have two options: renovate your current house or buy a home that already has the spaces you desire. The decision you make could be determined by factors like:\r\n\u003Col>\r\n \t\u003Cli>A possible desire to relocate\u003C\u002Fli>\r\n \t\u003Cli>The difference in the cost of a renovation versus a purchase\u003C\u002Fli>\r\n \t\u003Cli>Finding an existing home or designing a new home that has exactly what you want (versus trying to restructure the layout of your current house)\u003C\u002Fli>\r\n\u003C\u002Fol>\r\nIn either case, you’ll need access to capital: the funds for the renovation or the down payment your next home would require. The great news is that the money you need probably already exists in your current home in the form of \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.simplifyingthemarket.com\u002F2021\u002F09\u002F30\u002Fas-home-equity-rises-so-does-your-wealth\u002F\">equity\u003C\u002Fa>.\r\n\u003Ch4>\u003Cstrong>Home Equity Is Skyrocketing\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fh4>\r\nThe record-setting increases in home prices over the last two years dramatically improved homeowners’ \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.simplifyingthemarket.com\u002F2021\u002F10\u002F07\u002F111285-reasons-you-should-buy-a-home-this-year\u002F\">equity\u003C\u002Fa>. The graph below uses data from \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.corelogic.com\u002Fintelligence\u002Fhomeowner-equity-insights\u002F\">\u003Cem>CoreLogic\u003C\u002Fem>\u003C\u002Fa> to show the average home equity gain in the first quarter of the last nine years:\u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Ffiles.simplifyingthemarket.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2021\u002F10\u002F12131717\u002F20211013-MEM-Eng-1.png\">\u003Cimg class=\"aligncenter wp-image-45319\" src=\"https:\u002F\u002Ffiles.simplifyingthemarket.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2021\u002F10\u002F12131717\u002F20211013-MEM-Eng-1.png\" alt=\"The Big Question: Should You Renovate or Move? | Simplifying The Market\" width=\"650\" height=\"488\" \u002F>\u003C\u002Fa>Odeta Kushi, Deputy Chief Economist at \u003Cem>First American,\u003C\u002Fem> \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Ftwitter.com\u002Fodetakushi\u002Fstatus\u002F1445387423442214915\">quantifies\u003C\u002Fa> the amount of equity homeowners gained recently:\r\n\u003Cblockquote>\u003Cem>“Remember U.S. households own nearly $35 trillion in owner-occupied real estate, just over $11 trillion in debt, and the remaining ~$24 trillion in equity. In inflation adjusted terms, homeowners in Q2 had an average of $280,000 in equity- a historic high.”\u003C\u002Fem>\u003C\u002Fblockquote>\r\nAs a homeowner, the money you need to purchase the perfect home or renovate your current house may be right at your fingertips.\u003Cstrong> However, waiting to make your decision may increase the cost of tapping that equity.\u003C\u002Fstrong>\r\n\r\nIf you decide to renovate, you’ll need to refinance (or take out an equity loan) to access the equity. If you decide to move instead and use your equity as a down payment, you’ll still need to mortgage the remaining difference between the down payment and the cost of your next home.\r\n\r\nMortgage rates are \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.simplifyingthemarket.com\u002F2021\u002F10\u002F05\u002Fthe-main-key-to-understanding-the-rise-in-mortgage-rates\u002F\">forecast\u003C\u002Fa> to increase over the next year. Waiting to leverage your equity will probably mean you’ll pay more to do so. According to the latest data from the \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.fhfa.gov\u002FDataTools\u002FDownloads\u002FPages\u002FNational-Mortgage-Database-Aggregate-Data.aspx\">\u003Cem>Federal Housing Finance Agency\u003C\u002Fem>\u003C\u002Fa> (FHFA), almost 57% of current mortgage holders have a mortgage rate of 4% or below. If you’re one of those homeowners, you can keep your mortgage rate under 4% by doing it now. If you’re one of the 43% of homeowners with a mortgage rate over 4%, you may be able to do a cash-out refinance or buy a more expensive home without significantly increasing your monthly payment.\r\n\u003Ch4>\u003Cstrong>First Step: Determine the Amount of Equity in Your Home \u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fh4>\r\nIf you’re ready to either redesign your current house or find an existing or newly constructed home that has everything you want, the first thing you need to do is determine how much equity you have in your current home. To do that, you’ll need two things:\r\n\u003Col>\r\n \t\u003Cli>The current mortgage balance on your home\u003C\u002Fli>\r\n \t\u003Cli>The current value of your home\u003C\u002Fli>\r\n\u003C\u002Fol>\r\nYou can probably find the mortgage balance on your monthly mortgage statement. To find the current market value of your house, you can pay several hundreds of dollars for an appraisal, or you can contact a local real estate professional who will be able to present to you, \u003Cstrong>at no charge\u003C\u002Fstrong>, a professional equity assessment report.\r\n\u003Ch3>\u003Cstrong>Bottom Line\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fh3>\r\nIf the past 18 months have refocused your thoughts on what you want from your house, now may be the time to either renovate or make a move to the perfect home.","\r\nIf the past 18 months have refocused your thoughts on what you want from your house, now may be the time to either renovate or make a move to the perfect home.","https:\u002F\u002Ffiles.simplifyingthemarket.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2021\u002F10\u002F12131717\u002F20211013-MEM-Eng-1.png",false,[17,21,25,29,33],{"id":18,"name":19,"slug":20},5,"For Buyers","buyers",{"id":22,"name":23,"slug":24},6,"For Sellers","sellers",{"id":26,"name":27,"slug":28},9,"Home Prices","home-prices",{"id":30,"name":31,"slug":32},35,"Mortgage Rates","mortgage-rates",{"id":34,"name":35,"slug":36},38,"Move-Up","move-up","2021-10-13T10:00:36Z","2022-01-18T16:43:02Z",{"id":40,"slug":41,"title":42,"featuredImage":43,"publishedAt":44,"contentType":10,"isVideo":15},3661,"dont-wait-for-a-lower-mortgage-rate-it-could-cost-you","Don’t Wait for a Lower Mortgage Rate – It Could Cost You","https:\u002F\u002Ffiles.simplifyingthemarket.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2021\u002F10\u002F08085943\u002F20211012-KCM-Share.jpg","2021-10-12T10:00:04Z",{"id":46,"slug":47,"title":48,"featuredImage":49,"publishedAt":50,"contentType":10,"isVideo":15},3664,"what-do-past-years-tell-us-about-todays-real-estate-market","What Do Past Years Tell Us About Today’s Real Estate Market?","https:\u002F\u002Ffiles.simplifyingthemarket.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2021\u002F10\u002F13134440\u002F20211014-KCM-Share.jpg","2021-10-14T10:00:28Z",{"cover":52,"open":53,"shareSpread":54},"https:\u002F\u002Ffiles.keepingcurrentmatters.com\u002FKeepingCurrentMatters\u002Fcontent\u002Fimages\u002F20260603\u002F2026-Summer-Buyers-Guide-Cover-original.png","https:\u002F\u002Ffiles.keepingcurrentmatters.com\u002FKeepingCurrentMatters\u002Fcontent\u002Fimages\u002F20260603\u002F2026-Summer-Buyers-Guide-Spread-original.png","https:\u002F\u002Ffiles.keepingcurrentmatters.com\u002FKeepingCurrentMatters\u002Fcontent\u002Fimages\u002F20260603\u002F2026-Summer-Buyers-Guide-Magazine-original.png",{"cover":56,"open":57,"shareSpread":58},"https:\u002F\u002Ffiles.keepingcurrentmatters.com\u002FKeepingCurrentMatters\u002Fcontent\u002Fimages\u002F20260603\u002F2026-Summer-Sellers-Guide-Cover-original.png","https:\u002F\u002Ffiles.keepingcurrentmatters.com\u002FKeepingCurrentMatters\u002Fcontent\u002Fimages\u002F20260603\u002F2026-Summer-Sellers-Guide-Spread-original.png","https:\u002F\u002Ffiles.keepingcurrentmatters.com\u002FKeepingCurrentMatters\u002Fcontent\u002Fimages\u002F20260603\u002F2026-Summer-Sellers-Guide-Magazine-original.png",[60,64,65,66,70,74,75,79,83,84,85,89,93,97,101,105,109,113,117,121,125,129,133,137,141,145,149,153,157,161],{"id":61,"name":62,"slug":63},1,"Uncategorized","uncategorized",{"id":18,"name":19,"slug":20},{"id":22,"name":23,"slug":24},{"id":67,"name":68,"slug":69},7,"Foreclosures","foreclosures",{"id":71,"name":72,"slug":73},8,"Infographics","infographics",{"id":26,"name":27,"slug":28},{"id":76,"name":77,"slug":78},11,"First-Time Buyers","first-time-buyers",{"id":80,"name":81,"slug":82},34,"Senior Market","senior-market",{"id":30,"name":31,"slug":32},{"id":34,"name":35,"slug":36},{"id":86,"name":87,"slug":88},41,"For Sale by Owner","for-sale-by-owner",{"id":90,"name":91,"slug":92},42,"Featured","featured",{"id":94,"name":95,"slug":96},45,"New Construction","new-construction",{"id":98,"name":99,"slug":100},52,"Luxury \u002F Vacation","luxury--vacation",{"id":102,"name":103,"slug":104},53,"Rent vs. Buy","rent-vs-buy",{"id":106,"name":107,"slug":108},80,"Time-sensitive","time-sensitive",{"id":110,"name":111,"slug":112},81,"Outdated","outdated",{"id":114,"name":115,"slug":116},147,"Internal","internal",{"id":118,"name":119,"slug":120},148,"Do Not Autopost","do-not-autopost",{"id":122,"name":123,"slug":124},320,"Inventory","inventory",{"id":126,"name":127,"slug":128},321,"Agent Value","agent-value",{"id":130,"name":131,"slug":132},322,"Affordability","affordability",{"id":134,"name":135,"slug":136},323,"Buying Tips","buying-tips",{"id":138,"name":139,"slug":140},324,"Downsize","downsize",{"id":142,"name":143,"slug":144},325,"Economy","economy",{"id":146,"name":147,"slug":148},326,"Equity","equity",{"id":150,"name":151,"slug":152},327,"Forecasts","forecasts",{"id":154,"name":155,"slug":156},328,"Selling Tips","selling-tips",{"id":158,"name":159,"slug":160},339,"Expired\u002FWithdrawn\u002FCanceled","expiredwithdrawncanceled",{"id":162,"name":163,"slug":164},340,"Price It Right\u002FOverpricing","price-it-rightoverpricing"]