Chris Hallows

Owning a home means a lot of things to a lot of people. It can mean security and stability for some; for others, it’s a license for creativity; and for most, it is part of the path to financial freedom. These amazing benefits and more only come to those willing to be decisive and assume a certain … [Read more...] about Monitoring the Real Estate Market: Everything Could Change in Four or Five Months

Yes, I know, it definitely has felt like a “boy who cried wolf” scenario when the industry has been hoping for rates to reduce for so long, but this inflation economy proved stubborn, and 25-year high mortgage rates have prevailed. However, the boy who cried wolf was eventually right, and if we … [Read more...] about Beware of the Refinance Racket

Human behavior is one of the most fascinating things I’ve been able to observe in my 15 years of home lending in Flagstaff. We are blindsided on all fronts with lifestyle, advertising and, for better or worse, we all wear the proud badge of “consumer” all too easily. This can stand at odds with … [Read more...] about You are Part of the Problem, But You Can Change

There’s always that scene in the movies when the main character wonders if things couldn’t get any worse as it then begins to rain, affirming that yes, it can get worse. Some may wonder if that’s a similar situation to our housing market with tough rates, competitive inventory and just as we thought … [Read more...] about Is the Housing Market Impacted by Election Cycles?

Historically speaking, 2012 was likely it – the best year to buy a home in maybe the last 50 years. It was the rare time of stars aligning where post-crash demand was still low, the foreclosure inventory market was still working through so supply was high and you had the effects of a final round of … [Read more...] about Making Real Estate Lemonade from Lemons

April marked 24 months of greater-than-5% mortgage interest rates. While not an anomaly in the larger historic context of American mortgage rates, it has been a learning curve for home buyers that haven’t seen these levels for about a decade. We started this year full of optimism for lower rates … [Read more...] about The Medicine the Housing Market Doesn’t Want, But Truly Needs

You’re Sarah, mother of three and a realtor. You love what you do. You love people and you love helping people into the “American Dream.” Sure, you think it’s corny every time you say that out loud, but you have seen lives change through home ownership and you work really hard at what you do. It’s … [Read more...] about National Association of Realtors Settlement: Business as Usual or Forever Changed?

Albert Einstein once said, “Compound interest is the eighth wonder of the world. He who understands it, earns it … he who doesn’t … pays it.” Stability, comfort, privacy, security, community and personal expression are some of the top non-financial reasons for home ownership. While these are … [Read more...] about Considering the Eighth Wonder of the World and Housing

The emotions of home buying vs. the logic of home buying is an interesting philosophical quandary. While I would argue that most folks purchase based on lifestyle more than pure logic alone, the current market whipsaws have impacted buyers’ and sellers’ perspectives on both these fronts. The … [Read more...] about Real Estate Projection: The Later You Buy, the More You Will Fight

Expert economists have struggled all year to call how the Federal Reserve Board will manage the inflation crisis and subsequently, how markets will then react. This has led the current rate predictions to be very conservative and very diverse among economists, with two camps emerging. There is a … [Read more...] about Three Predictions for the 2024 Home Buying Market