The Watson Team LLC

04/26/2024

Call us for a private tour.

04/12/2024

Call us for a private appointment.

Verna

04/04/2024

3 bedroom/1.5 bath home in the desirable Heatherfield East Community in Dover featured for $349,900. Heating and air conditioning replaced in 2023. New flooring, carpeting, and painting throughout the home. Call us today for your private appointment.

03/28/2024

02/29/2024

02/02/2024

Ready for Tax Season? Here are a Few Housing-Related Tax Tips to Consider

Tax season is upon us. Are you hoping for a big break on your tax return? As you prepare your 2023 taxes, here are a few housing-related items to keep in mind.

Home interest deductions.
• Mortgages that closed before Dec. 16, 2017: A married couple filing jointly, and single filers can deduct mortgage interest on a combined debt limit of $1 million.
• Mortgages that closed after Dec. 16, 2017: For both primary residences and second home loans, married couples filing jointly and single filers can deduct mortgage interest on a combined debt limit of $750,000.

Property tax deductions.
Taxpayers who itemize can deduct up to $10,000 as a married couple filing jointly or $5,000 for those who are single or married, filing separately on a combination of state and local property,
income and sales taxes. This applies to property taxes on your primary residence, a vacation home and undeveloped land.

Capital gains tax exclusions.
Married-joint filers can exclude up to $500,000 and single filers can exclude up to $250,000 when selling their primary home, provided they’ve lived there two of the past five years.

Residential energy credits.
Certain home improvements, such as energy efficient windows, doors, solar panels and HVAC systems may be eligible for tax credits. Check IRS guidelines to determine how much you can
claim as a credit.

Those are just a few of the housing-related tax laws. Please consult your tax advisor for more information on how these and other tax deductions may apply to you.

To stay updated on what’s happening in your market, or for professional guidance through the process of buying or selling a home, I’m always available to help.

01/23/2024

Prosperity Mortgage Update:

This Market Update is written by our Capital Market specialists each week to bring you insight into what's happening in the market and how it may affect mortgage rates and real estate trends.
Rates are provided by Housing Wire in conjunction with Optimal Blue. Rates are updated in real-time. Optimal Blue data is calculated using actual locked rates with consumers across 42% of all mortgage transactions nationwide. Rates are inclusive of locks that occur below par, at par and therefore consider discounts and rebates.

Market Commentary:

For the week of Jan 12th – Jan 18th, 30-year and 15-year interest rates increased slightly.

While rates remain elevated this week, the Fed recently signaled that it would begin to cut rates in 2024, indicating a further downward shift in mortgage rates may be on the way.

Mortgage rates fell sharply in mid-December as the Federal Reserve wrapped up its final meeting of 2023 with no rate hike. The Fed did signal several rate cuts in 2024, and mortgage rates responded by free-falling from 7.21 percent to 6.88 percent in a single week.

12/11/2023

The Real Estate Market for 2024

If you’re thinking about buying or selling a home in 2024, you may be wondering what’s to come in the real estate market ahead. After a few robust years, 2023 brought the housing market to more normal (pre-Covid) levels, which we expect to continue in 2024.

Here are a few more of the trends that my team at Long & Foster Real Estate and I expect to occur next year.

Home inventory will continue to be limited. Fewer homes are on the market today than were a few years ago and this trend is expected to continue in 2024. Long & Foster’s October 2023 Market Conditions Report shows that we have about half the normal inventory than we did in pre-Covid years—a big challenge for those looking to buy a home these days.

Mortgage rates will fluctuate. Although rates climbed past the 8% mark on 30-year fixed rates this fall, they’ve seen a steady decline in the month of November. At some point, the Federal Reserve will pause on raising rates, which is expected to happen in the second half of 2024.

Home values will hold steady. We’re observing continued rising prices in most major metro areas where we operate—from Charleston, South Carolina, to the Jersey Shore. Many people are waiting for prices to go down, but because of the inventory shortage and continued demand, prices are holding steady.

What these trends mean for you

If you’re planning on buying or selling a home in 2024, it’s important to put these trends into perspective and realize that the unique characteristics of your local market may not match these overriding predictions.

Working with a Long & Foster real estate professional like me with local market knowledge and industry expertise will help you reach your real estate goals in 2024.

No matter which way the real estate market turns, I’m proud to be affiliated with a financially strong and stable company that takes an integrated approach to real estate, so I can offer you all the services needed to buy, sell, rent, own and invest in real estate—from mortgage and title to insurance and moving.

Contact me today to get started on your journey home.

Wishing you a happy and safe rest of the year!