January 22, 2025 • 29 mins
Discover the essential strategies for first-time homebuyers with our guest, Steve Reed, owner-proprietor of Benchmark Home Loans. We promise to equip you with the knowledge to navigate the tricky terrain of the 2025 housing market with confidence. Steve and I discuss the vital importance of selecting the right realtor and lender, steering clear of the common pitfall of relying solely on advertised interest rates or limited research. Rising interest rates have many potential buyers on edge, but with our insights, you can make informed decisions that work in your favor.
As we look ahead to the broader housing market trends of 2025, expect a refreshing shift toward more traditional home price appreciation, offering hope for increased affordability. Steve and I explore the intersection of interest rates, inflation, and wage growth, and how these elements might be influenced under a new presidential administration. We shed light on the wage growth disparity between job changers and stayers, offering a nuanced view of the economic landscape and its implications for home affordability.
Our conversation wouldn't be complete without addressing real estate market concerns, particularly the rising insurance premiums in disaster-prone regions like Florida. We stress the importance of engaging with insurance agents early in the homebuying process to avoid unexpected costs. Lastly, we proudly share our expertise in residential mortgage lending across Southeastern states, extending an invitation for personalized guidance. Reach out to us for support as you embark on your homebuying journey, and remember to like, rate, and review our podcast if you find our insights helpful.
To help you to navigate the home buying and mortgage process, Jonathan & Steve are currently licensed in Tennessee, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, and Virginia, contact us today at 423-491-5405 or visit www.jonathanandsteve.com.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
This is Benchmark Happenings, brought to you by
Jonathan and Steve fromBenchmark Home Loans.
Northeast Tennessee, johnsonCity, kingsport, bristol, the
Tri-Cities One of the mostbeautiful places in the country
to live.
Tons of great things to do andawesome local businesses.
(00:21):
And on this show you'll findout why people are dying to move
to Northeast Tennessee and onthe way we'll have discussions
about mortgages and we'llinterview people in the real
estate industry.
It's what we do.
This is Benchmark Happenings,brought to you by Benchmark Home
Loans and now your host,christine Reed.
Speaker 2 (00:45):
Happy New Year, everybody, and welcome to 2025.
My special guest today is theSteve Reed owner-proprietor of
Benchmark Home Loans.
Steve, thank you for being heretoday.
Speaker 3 (01:03):
Thank you for having me.
I thought you would never ask,so I feel pretty honored to be
here today.
Speaker 2 (01:08):
Well, your schedule is pretty busy and it's hard to
get you to commit to doing apodcast, so I really appreciate
it and I know that thoselistening are going to
appreciate this podcast too.
So, today being January of 2025, so happy new year, everybody,
(01:29):
and I'm just so excited aboutwhat this new year is going to
bring and also our newpresidential administration.
Daddy's home, so yeah,absolutely so.
But today we're going to talkabout all things first-time
homebuyers and I think that'syou know.
(01:50):
We do a lot of podcasts on thisepisode, steve, but sometimes I
think it's just great for us toreally get to the very basics of
everything from affordabilityto market outlook to common
mistakes that first-time homebuyers make, and you know what?
(02:11):
I think?
Sometimes it's things that wetake for granted just because
we've been in the industry forso long.
I know you've been here formany years and there might be
things that you say that thefirst-time homebuyer might
really don't know, but we mightassume that they do know.
(02:31):
So we're going to just startwith from scratch.
So let's just start with withsome of the mistakes that you
see first-time homebuyers make.
What would be some of thosesteve?
Speaker 3 (02:43):
well, first of all, thank you for not telling
everyone how long I've been inthis industry I didn't want to
do that that would have been abad way to to start 2025 here,
but uh oh you look, you're just.
Speaker 2 (02:56):
You're so handsome beauties and I they behold.
Speaker 3 (02:59):
Well, you're only uh 39 right, 39 years old baby in
In my mind Looking good honey.
Thank you, thank you.
So what a timely time of theyear really to be doing this
episode, just because I feellike over the last couple of
years, when we started seeingthis about middle of 2022, the
(03:22):
rates interest rates reallystarted ramping up, knocked a
lot of first-time homebuyers outof the market.
And nothing has really gottenmuch better over the last call
it two and a half years, goingon three years.
So it's really a timely podcastfor today just to be able to
talk about this, and my goalhere would be just to help
(03:47):
first-time homebuyers get backinto the market, because we know
there's so much demand.
We know they want to buy ahouse.
They're even the ones that mayhave the income to buy a house.
They're afraid.
They're afraid.
They've watched these prices goup so much and so quick.
Am I going to buy at the topand then prices are going to
(04:07):
come crashing down.
So we'll talk a little bitabout that.
But to answer your question asfar as mistakes they make, and
just to talk about a few majorones, the first one that comes
to my mind really is when we seethem not choosing a realtor or
choosing the right realtor, orlender.
(04:30):
Well, I'll get to that.
So the lender is anothermistake.
But the realtor you know, whenyou're going to start looking at
property, you really shouldhave a realtor that kind of
understands how to interact witha first-time homebuyer.
You're going to probably wantto look at more properties.
You're going to need toconsider more loan options, so
(04:51):
they're going to need to bereally hooked up with a lender
that caters to first-timehomebuyers.
So really, should you know toget started, you should choose
your realtor wisely.
And then, you know, then comesthe lender.
So definitely choose a lenderwisely.
You want to go with a locallender, not some national
(05:11):
company that because they'veadvertised an interest rate
that's one eighth of one percentlower than anything else you've
seen.
So shopping just based oninterest rate is a huge mistake
that a lot of first-timehomebuyers make.
So those are two, but you knowthe other things would be not
doing your homework, notstudying.
(05:32):
You know you need to know alittle bit before you go into
this.
Speaker 2 (05:37):
And so what would be some things?
Let's kind of go back tochoosing the realtor, one that
will cater to a first-timehomebuyer.
So I'm first-time homebuyer andI see like there are so many.
How am I going to know who'sgoing to cater to me as a
first-time homebuyer?
(05:57):
What are the things that I'mgoing to look for?
Speaker 3 (05:59):
Yeah, that's tough because it is kind of as Tarzan
says, it's a jungle out there.
That's tough because it is kindof as Tarzan says, it's a
jungle out there.
So there's more information onthe Internet than ever before,
but I feel like we're the mostconfused we've ever been as a
society than ever before,because there is so much
information, a lot of it islegit.
A lot of it is not.
(06:19):
If I'm just trying to putmyself in a first-time
homebuyer's shoes, the firstthing I would do if I know a
good lender that I'm alreadycomfortable with that I trust
then I would ask that lender youknow who's good with first-time
homebuyers, but the chances areyou're not going to have a
lender yet, probably so you know, plan B would be finding a
(06:45):
friend, a co-worker, a relativethat's recently purchased a
house.
Hey, who did you use for a realestate agent?
Were you happy with them?
And then go talk to them andmaybe that'll be your one, maybe
it won't.
You'll have to go, maybe haveconversations with two or three
different realtors.
I never push doing that, though, because if you're comfortable
(07:06):
with the first one and you feelreally kind of at ease with them
and you feel like they're goingto take care.
If you feel that connection andthat trust.
I don't say go interview three.
I say go with the first one, ifthat works.
Speaker 2 (07:20):
Go with your gut.
Speaker 3 (07:21):
Go with your gut.
If you don't feel that greatabout it, then that's okay.
Go to the second or the thirdor the fourth, whatever it takes
, but you know, definitely sitdown and talk with them and make
sure.
Probably one of the most commoncomplaints that I hear when it
comes to real estate agents andyou know most folks are happy
(07:41):
with their agent but one of themost common things is, you know,
they just wanted to show me ahouse and me buy the first house
.
They didn't want to listen to myneeds list or what I wanted
with in regards to a property,and so I think just the
listening aspect of it if you'rea real estate agent and you
(08:03):
know someone's going to listento you as the first time home
buyer, I think that's hugelyimportant.
So you know, find that rightreal estate agent.
Same goes with the lender.
You know, if you sit down witha lender and they're just giving
you the high points of kind ofwhat a loan process would look
like or what the rate would looklike, hey, here's your rate.
Have a nice day.
You know we never do that.
(08:25):
We always go.
We either meet in person or do aZoom call with all of our
clients and we want them tounderstand the market.
A knowledgeable client is agreat client for us.
We don't want a client thatwhere we can just lead around.
We want someone that we feellike we can empower them to make
their best financial decisions.
(08:45):
So we love knowledge, even whenthey come in with some good
knowledge Now, when they come inwhen they've just read
something Rocket Mortgage saidlast week on the Internet that's
kind of a dangerous clientbecause they think they know
more than they do, but peoplethat truly try to study and try
to learn a little bit about themarket.
(09:05):
hey, it's a great fit for us,but I always recommend doing
that.
But Get with the lender thatyou feel comfortable with.
That's going to walk youthrough those programs, like we
do on the Zoom call or thein-person meeting, and give you
options, and not someone thattries to push you into one
option or the other.
Because we try to present thematerial in a way and I'll tell
(09:28):
clients hey, if it were me or ifit were my kids, here's what I
would tell them to do.
But I never say, hey, this is,you know you should do this or
you shouldn't do this.
We just try to present it in away that's going to show them
how they can help their overallfinancial picture get better
through this mortgage andthrough owning real estate.
Speaker 2 (09:50):
Sure I think about too.
Steve is this day and age and,as far as a millennial and
younger, I go to Google reviews.
So if I look someone up,whether it be a realtor, lender,
I mean I'm going to look atGoogle reviews, I'm going to
talk to my friends, my coworkersand to get that lead, because I
(10:14):
know that your business a lotof it is word of mouth People
that send you you've done a loanfor them.
They send you their children,their grandchildren, their
friends, and that's how yourbusiness grows is happy clients,
happy families.
So anyway, I just wanted tothrow that out there.
I'm glad you did.
Speaker 3 (10:34):
I'm glad you did, because that that's an excellent
thing to do.
A lot of times, before Itransact any business, don't
matter if I'm buying a case ofpaper clips sometimes I'll I'll
go look at a google review.
so, and and how minor is thatcompared to the monumentous task
of getting a mortgage, I mean?
So you should really do aGoogle review If you're looking
(10:59):
at a mortgage lender.
I always tell my clients andsometimes they'll say well,
we've talked to a few differentlenders.
I'm like well, if you feelcomfortable with all of us, then
go to the next step.
Look at some reviews, look atwhat other people have to say
about us.
We're very proud of our reviews, and the reason we're proud of
them is because, from the timewe interact with that client for
the first time until they getthe keys to their house, we're
(11:24):
thinking in our minds.
We want them to be happy withus, we want them to be elated
that they came to Benchmark andwe want them to give us a good
review.
So we put a lot into gettinggood reviews and it shows, and
so, uh, but yeah, I should havementioned that myself, but I'm
glad, glad you brought that up,because that is a that is a huge
(11:45):
way to.
Speaker 2 (11:46):
I pay attention, I live with you, right?
Any other things that you wantto add to that, steve, that we
could maybe talk about?
Maybe not a mistake, but asguidance for that first-time
homebuyer.
Speaker 3 (12:06):
Well, there's no substitute for preparation.
And I've changed over the years.
I used to tell folks when theywere looking for houses and they
would say, hey, I'm going tobuy a house in six months.
I would be like, well, call mewhen you're 30 days out and
we'll get your loan approved.
And now I'm just the opposite.
Over the years.
I'm like, if you're going tobuy in two years from now, go
(12:28):
ahead and call me so I can kindof inform you where the market's
at, what you need to do.
You may have an old credit cardthat didn't get paid, that
needs to be updated on thecredit bureau.
That could take 90 days orwhatever.
So when we have time in ourfavor, you're going to get a lot
better outcome from getting themortgage and maybe time to even
(12:51):
raise your score, get a betterinterest rate.
So the time is now.
If you're planning to buy inthe next couple of years, go
ahead and connect with us,hopefully, or with a lender
where you can kind of get just abaseline of where you're at.
Speaker 2 (13:07):
Right, I think that's great advice, and especially
with everybody wants to come toEast Tennessee and there's so
many people moving here andpeople that come from other
states and they have cash and soit's hard to compete with those
cash buyers and our inventoryis low and I know we're working
(13:27):
on that, but anyway.
So, yeah, absolutely, itdoesn't matter if it's five
years or two years.
Correct, contact you and youcan help.
So what are some?
Can you explain what makes uphome affordability and where we
are currently in terms ofaffordable housing?
Speaker 3 (13:46):
Sure, home affordability the last couple of
years it's kind of like anoxymoron, I guess, like jumbo
shrimp there's really no suchthing so it's gotten really
tough.
But if we look at it on a microlevel and the way economists
talk about affordability whichdoes make a lot of sense but you
may have never heard it putthis way but there's three basic
(14:09):
factors of home affordability.
A lot of people think it's justhome prices.
Well, I can either afford thehome or I can't.
But when economists look atthis home affordability index,
which is pretty tough right now,I mean it's, you know, the home
affordability is not the best,comparatively speaking over the
historical averages, but it'sgetting a little bit better.
(14:33):
So there's three factors thatgo into home affordability.
One, as you would guess, isprice, the second factor is
interest rates and the thirdfactor is wages.
So what have we seen the lastcouple of years?
Well, we've seen prices.
You know, gosh in 2021,.
Speaker 2 (14:51):
I think, 20%.
Speaker 3 (14:52):
In a lot of markets.
We've seen double-digitappreciation rates, and so what
are we seeing now and what'sforecasted for 2025?
We're starting to see thosedouble-digit appreciation levels
go back to single digits more.
The historical norm of homeappreciation is about 3.5% to 4%
(15:14):
, and so we're seeing that goback to that average.
So it's getting a little easierthere.
Ok, so if we take number two,let's take interest rates.
We're seeing interest rates.
They're not going down in astraight line, but the inflation
numbers are getting a littlebit better, and so interest
(15:34):
rates are forecast to be alittle bit better.
We'll talk a little bit moreabout that if we have time.
And then wages.
You know wages year over year.
I saw a really interestinggraphic.
Today was talking about jobchangers versus job stayers,
which I never really even heardthat term.
Stayers, which I never reallyeven heard that term.
(16:00):
But job changers, their wagesare up about seven and a half
percent, whereas job stayerswages are up about four, which
both are pretty good right.
So you're seeing wages up,rates on the cusp of starting to
trickle back down.
You're seeing home pricesleveling out out and you're
seeing a little bit moreinventory come to the market, so
(16:20):
which makes for easiernegotiation, maybe getting
sellers to pay closing costsagain, who knows.
But so you're seeing thosethree factors.
I'm not saying it's just soeasy to go out and buy a house
today.
It hadn't automatically.
We didn't wake up this morningand you know you could just go
out and buy a house that youcouldn't afford yesterday.
But things are headed in theright direction, I think.
(16:42):
With the administration that wehave coming into power on
January 20th, I think thingswill get a lot better from the
inflation standpoint.
But you know, even anadministration can't control
everything.
It's consumer confidence,consumer demand.
There's a lot of things that gointo it, but it really looks
like home affordability overallis going to get better for 2025
(17:07):
and 2026.
So that should be encouragingto young families who want to
buy a house.
Speaker 2 (17:13):
That is encouraging and I love the.
You know we did a conferenceback several months ago, brought
in Dave Childers, and it wasjust amazing information that
you know I had not seen beforein the amount of data that they
showed.
So I know that's something thatyou shared with a lot of your
(17:34):
realtors.
So if you're a realtorlistening you don't have that
information, contact Steve forthat.
But so let's talk aboutinterest rates, steve, because
everybody, what's your rate?
What's your rate?
What's the outlook for 2025?
Speaker 3 (17:48):
Well, the outlook is better and you know, when we
were sitting here this time lastyear, we were a little bit more
confident that hey, come may orjune, and a lot of economists
even had that penciled in ontheir calendars hey on may 10th,
the rates are going to go downand you know, like fools we went
(18:08):
out and broadcast that a littlebit, but we, we tried to keep
it to a minimum.
Speaker 2 (18:12):
You were still cautious, though.
Speaker 3 (18:13):
Very cautious.
I'm always cautious becausethese guys don't have a crystal
ball and we have to be cautiousnow.
We learn a little bit everyyear, you know.
Speaker 2 (18:23):
And.
Speaker 3 (18:23):
I feel like we learned from last year don't
pencil in a date that rates aregoing to get better, or even a
month, but all the metrics dopoint to inflation numbers being
better.
There's one part of inflationthat's really hurt us.
There's so many things thatgoes into the CPI and the PPI
(18:45):
for inflation and one of thenumbers is shelter cost and
shelter cost.
It's a lot of different areas.
Its shelter costs could be howmuch you pay for your mortgage
payment, how much you pay forrent, how much you pay for a
hotel when you go spend thenight in the hotel.
So hotel costs were sooutrageous they were really
(19:06):
factoring into the shelter costs, raising inflation a lot.
Well, those are starting tomoderate, some as well.
So we're seeing those sheltercosts come down now.
That's not 100% of thoseinflation numbers, but it is a
factor in there.
It's a percentage and I can'tremember what percentage shelter
cost is, but it's a pretty goodpercentage.
(19:27):
And so, as we see that moderateinflation moderates, that will
help interest rates and so Idon't think we're going to wake
up again and all of a sudden itbe super low.
But I do think toward the end ofthis year we're going to be
back in the high 5% range, maybemid fives, and you know we're
(19:49):
mid sixes now, mid to high sixesnow, so that's not a huge, huge
drop off in rates.
I mean, it helps.
Every little bit helps anddemand is better when the rates
are under six.
So I think we'll probably seethe rates fall under six.
The home prices won't go up asquick.
We're going to see more on themarket and so I think that all
(20:12):
bode pretty well.
But for those that are just onthe fence waiting for you know,
just to you know, get up one dayand hey, I'm now.
My house payment's five hundreddollars less than it would have
been last week.
I just don't, that's not goingto happen but as these wages
grow, makes it to where thathome's more affordable for you
(20:32):
as well.
Between that, rates moderatinga little bit and prices steady.
Speaker 2 (20:37):
Okay, well, and I think that it all boils down to
don't wait for an interest rateto drop to buy your home.
If you find a home that youfall in love with, please see
Steve or Jonathan, get yourpreapproval, have your plans in
place.
Speaker 3 (20:57):
Or Brittany or Lauren if you're in Knox in place, or
Brittany or Lauren, yeah.
Speaker 2 (20:58):
Brittany or Lauren if , in Knoxville market, go ahead
and get that pre-approval anddon't be afraid to get that loan
, because when interest rates dodrop you can always refinance,
but it's going to be harder.
So let's talk about theconcerns for the real estate
market in 2025.
So let's talk about theconcerns for the real estate
market in 2025.
And then, what are you excitedabout in the real estate market
(21:20):
in 2025?
Speaker 3 (21:21):
Well, those are great questions and you'll be shocked
about what I'm concerned about.
You'd probably be thinking I'mconcerned about rates or prices
or whatever.
But I tell you, what I'm reallyconcerned about is and it's not
as much in our market, althoughit could be, could come to
Tennessee and other areas butyou know we're licensed in
(21:44):
Florida and South Carolina andVirginia and Arkansas and
Kentucky, so we're licensed inabout seven states.
But my biggest concern areinsurance premiums in these
markets.
We've had these naturaldisasters and you know, one made
it 1,500 miles up here to ourlittle mountain town, right, and
(22:07):
it was Hurricane Helene.
And these insurance companiesare going to base their premiums
on risk, right.
So they're not going to forgetthese natural disasters Already.
In Florida what we're seeing isa lot of insurance companies
just packing up their bags andleaving the state and not doing.
They're not necessarily goingout of business, but they're
(22:28):
shutting down business inFlorida.
So with that you've got lesscompetitions for the insurance
companies.
You're stuck with who you canget and that drives up premiums.
So you know, I've heard of alot of places in Florida where
you've got $5,000 to $10,000 ayear insurance premiums.
Wow, you know you start talking$800 to $1,000 a month for
(22:52):
insurance If you're in a condo.
The HOAs are going outrageous.
Florida has a new requirementthis year that condos over 30
years old have to have thesefoundation inspections.
Well, you know they've alreadydetermined some of those are
sinking and it's an astronomicalcost to try to deal with those,
(23:14):
especially the high rises.
So insurance is going to be abig deal moving forward.
I would be personally scared todeath to buy something on the
coast right now just because ofthat.
Speaker 2 (23:28):
And this is focusing in the Florida market everybody
Not anywhere else, but right nowjust Steve's talking about
Florida.
Speaker 3 (23:35):
I'm talking about Florida, but I'm also talking
about riverfront property herethat got wiped out and the river
took on a new path.
So I think you have to becareful, I think, when you're
purchasing a home now and it'snot rocket science, but you can
make a call to the insuranceagent before you go under
contract and say what's thisinsurance going to cost me?
(23:59):
And there's very few around here.
Like you say, this is kind ofmostly Florida, but there are
some, you know, norzechy Riverproperties here.
That would worry me a littlebit and you know, with the flood
zone is probably the maps aregoing to change, so that would
be my biggest concern.
I'm not worried about what mosthomebuyers are worried about.
Oh, I'm afraid I'm going to buyat the top of the market.
(24:20):
That does not worry me.
Historically real estate isgoing to go up, maybe at a
slower pace than it's been.
Speaker 2 (24:27):
Great investment.
Speaker 3 (24:28):
It's still a great investment.
So I think now you have tomaybe be a little bit more savvy
.
Even though I'm in thisbusiness, I don't remember ever
calling to find out what myinsurance was.
If I wanted a house.
I wanted a house, I just wantto know what's my payment,
what's the rate?
What's the price of the house?
But now I think you might wantto take an extra step and have a
(24:49):
really good insurance agentthat can help guide you through,
because it might in some cases,be properties that that you
want to stay away from, that'sgoing to have some hidden cost,
um, that you know.
It'd be way better to find outup front.
So so that's, that's a longanswer to what you know what I'm
concerned about in the realestate and that's not huge.
(25:11):
Like I say, that's a very smallpercentage of our properties
here, like you mentioned,mentioned.
Yes, very thankful, but inFlorida not so much.
You know that's a pretty goodportion of the property.
Speaker 2 (25:23):
So what's exciting about the market for 2025, Steve
.
Speaker 3 (25:27):
Well, I think exciting is just seeing I love
dealing with first-timehomebuyers and you know I love
helping anyone plan for theirfinancial future, so it don't
have to be a first-timehomebuyers, and you know I love
helping anyone plan for theirfinancial future, so it don't
have to be a first-timehomebuyer.
But a first-time homebuyer isspecial to me and I love being
able to sit down with them andwatch the excitement from buying
(25:49):
their first house and helpingthem save money on that, walking
them through the process, themsave money on that, walking them
through the process, takingaway their fear of the process
and knowing that I've got theirback and.
I've got them covered and we cando this together, and so that's
been missing the last two orthree years.
(26:11):
It's been missing since aboutmid-2022, like we spoke about
earlier.
So now I'm kind of seeing thatglimmer of hope for first-time
homebuyers getting back in themarket, and that is hugely
exciting to me because it's beenfor lack of a better word kind
of a boring market to me thelast couple of years because
it's just been going through themotions.
(26:32):
You know you have some guybuying a house from California
which hey, we love those too butyou know he's buying it and
paying 50 percent down and it'shis 15th mortgage and he don't
feel like he needs us and youknow that kind of thing.
So to be able to see thesefirst time homebuyers coming
back in the market, where, whereI can use my expertise to help
(26:53):
them make a difference in theirfamilies lives, that is what I
love.
Speaker 2 (26:58):
Right, that's, that is exciting, and so what are
some?
We're going to wrap up.
Steve, I think this has justbeen well number one timely,
great information, thank you,and I hope that we can do some
updates.
But what about some closingremarks before we end the
(27:19):
episode?
Speaker 3 (27:20):
Yeah.
So just want to encourageeveryone to go into this year
optimistic about buying a home.
Don't write yourself off A lotof loans we do.
Folks will think, well, I can'tbuy a home, or I can't afford
this house, or I can't afford tobuy a house in my situation.
(27:40):
You know.
Get with us and let us look atyour situation and tell you what
you need to buy a home.
Stop paying rent and puttingthe money in your landlord's
pocket.
Go ahead and take the step.
It's really something you'llnever regret, and so I would
just encourage anyone out therelooking to just take that first
(28:03):
step and the rest will make easyfor you.
So, Christine, thanks again forhaving me, and we'll hopefully
continue this on our nextpodcast with not only first time
homebu buyers but just themarket in general.
Speaker 1 (28:21):
This has been Benchmark Happenings brought to
you by Jonathan Tipton and SteveReed from Benchmark Home Loans.
Jonathan and Steve areresidential mortgage lenders.
They do home loans in NortheastTennessee and they're not only
licensed in Tennessee butFlorida, georgia, south Carolina
and Virginia.
We hope you've enjoyed the show.
(28:42):
If you did make sure to like,rate and review.
Our passion is NortheastTennessee, so if you have
questions about mortgages, callus at 423-491-5405.
And the website iswwwjonathanandstevecom.
Thanks for being with us andwe'll see you next time on
(29:04):
benchmark happenings.
This is Benchmark Happenings, brought to you by
Jonathan and Steve fromBenchmark Home Loans.
Northeast Tennessee, johnsonCity, kingsport, bristol, the
Tri-Cities One of the mostbeautiful places in the country
to live.
Tons of great things to do andawesome local businesses.
(00:21):
And on this show you'll findout why people are dying to move
to Northeast Tennessee and onthe way we'll have discussions
about mortgages and we'llinterview people in the real
estate industry.
It's what we do.
This is Benchmark Happenings,brought to you by Benchmark Home
Loans and now your host,christine Reed.
Speaker 2 (00:45):
Happy New Year, everybody, and welcome to 2025.
My special guest today is theSteve Reed owner-proprietor of
Benchmark Home Loans.
Steve, thank you for being heretoday.
Speaker 3 (01:03):
Thank you for having me.
I thought you would never ask,so I feel pretty honored to be
here today.
Speaker 2 (01:08):
Well, your schedule is pretty busy and it's hard to
get you to commit to doing apodcast, so I really appreciate
it and I know that thoselistening are going to
appreciate this podcast too.
So, today being January of 2025, so happy new year, everybody,
(01:29):
and I'm just so excited aboutwhat this new year is going to
bring and also our newpresidential administration.
Daddy's home, so yeah,absolutely so.
But today we're going to talkabout all things first-time
homebuyers and I think that'syou know.
(01:50):
We do a lot of podcasts on thisepisode, steve, but sometimes I
think it's just great for us toreally get to the very basics of
everything from affordabilityto market outlook to common
mistakes that first-time homebuyers make, and you know what?
(02:11):
I think?
Sometimes it's things that wetake for granted just because
we've been in the industry forso long.
I know you've been here formany years and there might be
things that you say that thefirst-time homebuyer might
really don't know, but we mightassume that they do know.
(02:31):
So we're going to just startwith from scratch.
So let's just start with withsome of the mistakes that you
see first-time homebuyers make.
What would be some of thosesteve?
Speaker 3 (02:43):
well, first of all, thank you for not telling
everyone how long I've been inthis industry I didn't want to
do that that would have been abad way to to start 2025 here,
but uh oh you look, you're just.
Speaker 2 (02:56):
You're so handsome beauties and I they behold.
Speaker 3 (02:59):
Well, you're only uh 39 right, 39 years old baby in
In my mind Looking good honey.
Thank you, thank you.
So what a timely time of theyear really to be doing this
episode, just because I feellike over the last couple of
years, when we started seeingthis about middle of 2022, the
(03:22):
rates interest rates reallystarted ramping up, knocked a
lot of first-time homebuyers outof the market.
And nothing has really gottenmuch better over the last call
it two and a half years, goingon three years.
So it's really a timely podcastfor today just to be able to
talk about this, and my goalhere would be just to help
(03:47):
first-time homebuyers get backinto the market, because we know
there's so much demand.
We know they want to buy ahouse.
They're even the ones that mayhave the income to buy a house.
They're afraid.
They're afraid.
They've watched these prices goup so much and so quick.
Am I going to buy at the topand then prices are going to
(04:07):
come crashing down.
So we'll talk a little bitabout that.
But to answer your question asfar as mistakes they make, and
just to talk about a few majorones, the first one that comes
to my mind really is when we seethem not choosing a realtor or
choosing the right realtor, orlender.
(04:30):
Well, I'll get to that.
So the lender is anothermistake.
But the realtor you know, whenyou're going to start looking at
property, you really shouldhave a realtor that kind of
understands how to interact witha first-time homebuyer.
You're going to probably wantto look at more properties.
You're going to need toconsider more loan options, so
(04:51):
they're going to need to bereally hooked up with a lender
that caters to first-timehomebuyers.
So really, should you know toget started, you should choose
your realtor wisely.
And then, you know, then comesthe lender.
So definitely choose a lenderwisely.
You want to go with a locallender, not some national
(05:11):
company that because they'veadvertised an interest rate
that's one eighth of one percentlower than anything else you've
seen.
So shopping just based oninterest rate is a huge mistake
that a lot of first-timehomebuyers make.
So those are two, but you knowthe other things would be not
doing your homework, notstudying.
(05:32):
You know you need to know alittle bit before you go into
this.
Speaker 2 (05:37):
And so what would be some things?
Let's kind of go back tochoosing the realtor, one that
will cater to a first-timehomebuyer.
So I'm first-time homebuyer andI see like there are so many.
How am I going to know who'sgoing to cater to me as a
first-time homebuyer?
(05:57):
What are the things that I'mgoing to look for?
Speaker 3 (05:59):
Yeah, that's tough because it is kind of as Tarzan
says, it's a jungle out there.
That's tough because it is kindof as Tarzan says, it's a
jungle out there.
So there's more information onthe Internet than ever before,
but I feel like we're the mostconfused we've ever been as a
society than ever before,because there is so much
information, a lot of it islegit.
A lot of it is not.
(06:19):
If I'm just trying to putmyself in a first-time
homebuyer's shoes, the firstthing I would do if I know a
good lender that I'm alreadycomfortable with that I trust
then I would ask that lender youknow who's good with first-time
homebuyers, but the chances areyou're not going to have a
lender yet, probably so you know, plan B would be finding a
(06:45):
friend, a co-worker, a relativethat's recently purchased a
house.
Hey, who did you use for a realestate agent?
Were you happy with them?
And then go talk to them andmaybe that'll be your one, maybe
it won't.
You'll have to go, maybe haveconversations with two or three
different realtors.
I never push doing that, though, because if you're comfortable
(07:06):
with the first one and you feelreally kind of at ease with them
and you feel like they're goingto take care.
If you feel that connection andthat trust.
I don't say go interview three.
I say go with the first one, ifthat works.
Speaker 2 (07:20):
Go with your gut.
Speaker 3 (07:21):
Go with your gut.
If you don't feel that greatabout it, then that's okay.
Go to the second or the thirdor the fourth, whatever it takes
, but you know, definitely sitdown and talk with them and make
sure.
Probably one of the most commoncomplaints that I hear when it
comes to real estate agents andyou know most folks are happy
(07:41):
with their agent but one of themost common things is, you know,
they just wanted to show me ahouse and me buy the first house
.
They didn't want to listen to myneeds list or what I wanted
with in regards to a property,and so I think just the
listening aspect of it if you'rea real estate agent and you
(08:03):
know someone's going to listento you as the first time home
buyer, I think that's hugelyimportant.
So you know, find that rightreal estate agent.
Same goes with the lender.
You know, if you sit down witha lender and they're just giving
you the high points of kind ofwhat a loan process would look
like or what the rate would looklike, hey, here's your rate.
Have a nice day.
You know we never do that.
(08:25):
We always go.
We either meet in person or do aZoom call with all of our
clients and we want them tounderstand the market.
A knowledgeable client is agreat client for us.
We don't want a client thatwhere we can just lead around.
We want someone that we feellike we can empower them to make
their best financial decisions.
(08:45):
So we love knowledge, even whenthey come in with some good
knowledge Now, when they come inwhen they've just read
something Rocket Mortgage saidlast week on the Internet that's
kind of a dangerous clientbecause they think they know
more than they do, but peoplethat truly try to study and try
to learn a little bit about themarket.
(09:05):
hey, it's a great fit for us,but I always recommend doing
that.
But Get with the lender thatyou feel comfortable with.
That's going to walk youthrough those programs, like we
do on the Zoom call or thein-person meeting, and give you
options, and not someone thattries to push you into one
option or the other.
Because we try to present thematerial in a way and I'll tell
(09:28):
clients hey, if it were me or ifit were my kids, here's what I
would tell them to do.
But I never say, hey, this is,you know you should do this or
you shouldn't do this.
We just try to present it in away that's going to show them
how they can help their overallfinancial picture get better
through this mortgage andthrough owning real estate.
Speaker 2 (09:50):
Sure I think about too.
Steve is this day and age and,as far as a millennial and
younger, I go to Google reviews.
So if I look someone up,whether it be a realtor, lender,
I mean I'm going to look atGoogle reviews, I'm going to
talk to my friends, my coworkersand to get that lead, because I
(10:14):
know that your business a lotof it is word of mouth People
that send you you've done a loanfor them.
They send you their children,their grandchildren, their
friends, and that's how yourbusiness grows is happy clients,
happy families.
So anyway, I just wanted tothrow that out there.
I'm glad you did.
Speaker 3 (10:34):
I'm glad you did, because that that's an excellent
thing to do.
A lot of times, before Itransact any business, don't
matter if I'm buying a case ofpaper clips sometimes I'll I'll
go look at a google review.
so, and and how minor is thatcompared to the monumentous task
of getting a mortgage, I mean?
So you should really do aGoogle review If you're looking
(10:59):
at a mortgage lender.
I always tell my clients andsometimes they'll say well,
we've talked to a few differentlenders.
I'm like well, if you feelcomfortable with all of us, then
go to the next step.
Look at some reviews, look atwhat other people have to say
about us.
We're very proud of our reviews, and the reason we're proud of
them is because, from the timewe interact with that client for
the first time until they getthe keys to their house, we're
(11:24):
thinking in our minds.
We want them to be happy withus, we want them to be elated
that they came to Benchmark andwe want them to give us a good
review.
So we put a lot into gettinggood reviews and it shows, and
so, uh, but yeah, I should havementioned that myself, but I'm
glad, glad you brought that up,because that is a that is a huge
(11:45):
way to.
Speaker 2 (11:46):
I pay attention, I live with you, right?
Any other things that you wantto add to that, steve, that we
could maybe talk about?
Maybe not a mistake, but asguidance for that first-time
homebuyer.
Speaker 3 (12:06):
Well, there's no substitute for preparation.
And I've changed over the years.
I used to tell folks when theywere looking for houses and they
would say, hey, I'm going tobuy a house in six months.
I would be like, well, call mewhen you're 30 days out and
we'll get your loan approved.
And now I'm just the opposite.
Over the years.
I'm like, if you're going tobuy in two years from now, go
(12:28):
ahead and call me so I can kindof inform you where the market's
at, what you need to do.
You may have an old credit cardthat didn't get paid, that
needs to be updated on thecredit bureau.
That could take 90 days orwhatever.
So when we have time in ourfavor, you're going to get a lot
better outcome from getting themortgage and maybe time to even
(12:51):
raise your score, get a betterinterest rate.
So the time is now.
If you're planning to buy inthe next couple of years, go
ahead and connect with us,hopefully, or with a lender
where you can kind of get just abaseline of where you're at.
Speaker 2 (13:07):
Right, I think that's great advice, and especially
with everybody wants to come toEast Tennessee and there's so
many people moving here andpeople that come from other
states and they have cash and soit's hard to compete with those
cash buyers and our inventoryis low and I know we're working
(13:27):
on that, but anyway.
So, yeah, absolutely, itdoesn't matter if it's five
years or two years.
Correct, contact you and youcan help.
So what are some?
Can you explain what makes uphome affordability and where we
are currently in terms ofaffordable housing?
Speaker 3 (13:46):
Sure, home affordability the last couple of
years it's kind of like anoxymoron, I guess, like jumbo
shrimp there's really no suchthing so it's gotten really
tough.
But if we look at it on a microlevel and the way economists
talk about affordability whichdoes make a lot of sense but you
may have never heard it putthis way but there's three basic
(14:09):
factors of home affordability.
A lot of people think it's justhome prices.
Well, I can either afford thehome or I can't.
But when economists look atthis home affordability index,
which is pretty tough right now,I mean it's, you know, the home
affordability is not the best,comparatively speaking over the
historical averages, but it'sgetting a little bit better.
(14:33):
So there's three factors thatgo into home affordability.
One, as you would guess, isprice, the second factor is
interest rates and the thirdfactor is wages.
So what have we seen the lastcouple of years?
Well, we've seen prices.
You know, gosh in 2021,.
Speaker 2 (14:51):
I think, 20%.
Speaker 3 (14:52):
In a lot of markets.
We've seen double-digitappreciation rates, and so what
are we seeing now and what'sforecasted for 2025?
We're starting to see thosedouble-digit appreciation levels
go back to single digits more.
The historical norm of homeappreciation is about 3.5% to 4%
(15:14):
, and so we're seeing that goback to that average.
So it's getting a little easierthere.
Ok, so if we take number two,let's take interest rates.
We're seeing interest rates.
They're not going down in astraight line, but the inflation
numbers are getting a littlebit better, and so interest
(15:34):
rates are forecast to be alittle bit better.
We'll talk a little bit moreabout that if we have time.
And then wages.
You know wages year over year.
I saw a really interestinggraphic.
Today was talking about jobchangers versus job stayers,
which I never really even heardthat term.
Stayers, which I never reallyeven heard that term.
(16:00):
But job changers, their wagesare up about seven and a half
percent, whereas job stayerswages are up about four, which
both are pretty good right.
So you're seeing wages up,rates on the cusp of starting to
trickle back down.
You're seeing home pricesleveling out out and you're
seeing a little bit moreinventory come to the market, so
(16:20):
which makes for easiernegotiation, maybe getting
sellers to pay closing costsagain, who knows.
But so you're seeing thosethree factors.
I'm not saying it's just soeasy to go out and buy a house
today.
It hadn't automatically.
We didn't wake up this morningand you know you could just go
out and buy a house that youcouldn't afford yesterday.
But things are headed in theright direction, I think.
(16:42):
With the administration that wehave coming into power on
January 20th, I think thingswill get a lot better from the
inflation standpoint.
But you know, even anadministration can't control
everything.
It's consumer confidence,consumer demand.
There's a lot of things that gointo it, but it really looks
like home affordability overallis going to get better for 2025
(17:07):
and 2026.
So that should be encouragingto young families who want to
buy a house.
Speaker 2 (17:13):
That is encouraging and I love the.
You know we did a conferenceback several months ago, brought
in Dave Childers, and it wasjust amazing information that
you know I had not seen beforein the amount of data that they
showed.
So I know that's something thatyou shared with a lot of your
(17:34):
realtors.
So if you're a realtorlistening you don't have that
information, contact Steve forthat.
But so let's talk aboutinterest rates, steve, because
everybody, what's your rate?
What's your rate?
What's the outlook for 2025?
Speaker 3 (17:48):
Well, the outlook is better and you know, when we
were sitting here this time lastyear, we were a little bit more
confident that hey, come may orjune, and a lot of economists
even had that penciled in ontheir calendars hey on may 10th,
the rates are going to go downand you know, like fools we went
(18:08):
out and broadcast that a littlebit, but we, we tried to keep
it to a minimum.
Speaker 2 (18:12):
You were still cautious, though.
Speaker 3 (18:13):
Very cautious.
I'm always cautious becausethese guys don't have a crystal
ball and we have to be cautiousnow.
We learn a little bit everyyear, you know.
Speaker 2 (18:23):
And.
Speaker 3 (18:23):
I feel like we learned from last year don't
pencil in a date that rates aregoing to get better, or even a
month, but all the metrics dopoint to inflation numbers being
better.
There's one part of inflationthat's really hurt us.
There's so many things thatgoes into the CPI and the PPI
(18:45):
for inflation and one of thenumbers is shelter cost and
shelter cost.
It's a lot of different areas.
Its shelter costs could be howmuch you pay for your mortgage
payment, how much you pay forrent, how much you pay for a
hotel when you go spend thenight in the hotel.
So hotel costs were sooutrageous they were really
(19:06):
factoring into the shelter costs, raising inflation a lot.
Well, those are starting tomoderate, some as well.
So we're seeing those sheltercosts come down now.
That's not 100% of thoseinflation numbers, but it is a
factor in there.
It's a percentage and I can'tremember what percentage shelter
cost is, but it's a pretty goodpercentage.
(19:27):
And so, as we see that moderateinflation moderates, that will
help interest rates and so Idon't think we're going to wake
up again and all of a sudden itbe super low.
But I do think toward the end ofthis year we're going to be
back in the high 5% range, maybemid fives, and you know we're
(19:49):
mid sixes now, mid to high sixesnow, so that's not a huge, huge
drop off in rates.
I mean, it helps.
Every little bit helps anddemand is better when the rates
are under six.
So I think we'll probably seethe rates fall under six.
The home prices won't go up asquick.
We're going to see more on themarket and so I think that all
(20:12):
bode pretty well.
But for those that are just onthe fence waiting for you know,
just to you know, get up one dayand hey, I'm now.
My house payment's five hundreddollars less than it would have
been last week.
I just don't, that's not goingto happen but as these wages
grow, makes it to where thathome's more affordable for you
(20:32):
as well.
Between that, rates moderatinga little bit and prices steady.
Speaker 2 (20:37):
Okay, well, and I think that it all boils down to
don't wait for an interest rateto drop to buy your home.
If you find a home that youfall in love with, please see
Steve or Jonathan, get yourpreapproval, have your plans in
place.
Speaker 3 (20:57):
Or Brittany or Lauren if you're in Knox in place, or
Brittany or Lauren, yeah.
Speaker 2 (20:58):
Brittany or Lauren if , in Knoxville market, go ahead
and get that pre-approval anddon't be afraid to get that loan
, because when interest rates dodrop you can always refinance,
but it's going to be harder.
So let's talk about theconcerns for the real estate
market in 2025.
So let's talk about theconcerns for the real estate
market in 2025.
And then, what are you excitedabout in the real estate market
(21:20):
in 2025?
Speaker 3 (21:21):
Well, those are great questions and you'll be shocked
about what I'm concerned about.
You'd probably be thinking I'mconcerned about rates or prices
or whatever.
But I tell you, what I'm reallyconcerned about is and it's not
as much in our market, althoughit could be, could come to
Tennessee and other areas butyou know we're licensed in
(21:44):
Florida and South Carolina andVirginia and Arkansas and
Kentucky, so we're licensed inabout seven states.
But my biggest concern areinsurance premiums in these
markets.
We've had these naturaldisasters and you know, one made
it 1,500 miles up here to ourlittle mountain town, right, and
(22:07):
it was Hurricane Helene.
And these insurance companiesare going to base their premiums
on risk, right.
So they're not going to forgetthese natural disasters Already.
In Florida what we're seeing isa lot of insurance companies
just packing up their bags andleaving the state and not doing.
They're not necessarily goingout of business, but they're
(22:28):
shutting down business inFlorida.
So with that you've got lesscompetitions for the insurance
companies.
You're stuck with who you canget and that drives up premiums.
So you know, I've heard of alot of places in Florida where
you've got $5,000 to $10,000 ayear insurance premiums.
Wow, you know you start talking$800 to $1,000 a month for
(22:52):
insurance If you're in a condo.
The HOAs are going outrageous.
Florida has a new requirementthis year that condos over 30
years old have to have thesefoundation inspections.
Well, you know they've alreadydetermined some of those are
sinking and it's an astronomicalcost to try to deal with those,
(23:14):
especially the high rises.
So insurance is going to be abig deal moving forward.
I would be personally scared todeath to buy something on the
coast right now just because ofthat.
Speaker 2 (23:28):
And this is focusing in the Florida market everybody
Not anywhere else, but right nowjust Steve's talking about
Florida.
Speaker 3 (23:35):
I'm talking about Florida, but I'm also talking
about riverfront property herethat got wiped out and the river
took on a new path.
So I think you have to becareful, I think, when you're
purchasing a home now and it'snot rocket science, but you can
make a call to the insuranceagent before you go under
contract and say what's thisinsurance going to cost me?
(23:59):
And there's very few around here.
Like you say, this is kind ofmostly Florida, but there are
some, you know, norzechy Riverproperties here.
That would worry me a littlebit and you know, with the flood
zone is probably the maps aregoing to change, so that would
be my biggest concern.
I'm not worried about what mosthomebuyers are worried about.
Oh, I'm afraid I'm going to buyat the top of the market.
(24:20):
That does not worry me.
Historically real estate isgoing to go up, maybe at a
slower pace than it's been.
Speaker 2 (24:27):
Great investment.
Speaker 3 (24:28):
It's still a great investment.
So I think now you have tomaybe be a little bit more savvy
.
Even though I'm in thisbusiness, I don't remember ever
calling to find out what myinsurance was.
If I wanted a house.
I wanted a house, I just wantto know what's my payment,
what's the rate?
What's the price of the house?
But now I think you might wantto take an extra step and have a
(24:49):
really good insurance agentthat can help guide you through,
because it might in some cases,be properties that that you
want to stay away from, that'sgoing to have some hidden cost,
um, that you know.
It'd be way better to find outup front.
So so that's, that's a longanswer to what you know what I'm
concerned about in the realestate and that's not huge.
(25:11):
Like I say, that's a very smallpercentage of our properties
here, like you mentioned,mentioned.
Yes, very thankful, but inFlorida not so much.
You know that's a pretty goodportion of the property.
Speaker 2 (25:23):
So what's exciting about the market for 2025, Steve
.
Speaker 3 (25:27):
Well, I think exciting is just seeing I love
dealing with first-timehomebuyers and you know I love
helping anyone plan for theirfinancial future, so it don't
have to be a first-timehomebuyers, and you know I love
helping anyone plan for theirfinancial future, so it don't
have to be a first-timehomebuyer.
But a first-time homebuyer isspecial to me and I love being
able to sit down with them andwatch the excitement from buying
(25:49):
their first house and helpingthem save money on that, walking
them through the process, themsave money on that, walking them
through the process, takingaway their fear of the process
and knowing that I've got theirback and.
I've got them covered and we cando this together, and so that's
been missing the last two orthree years.
(26:11):
It's been missing since aboutmid-2022, like we spoke about
earlier.
So now I'm kind of seeing thatglimmer of hope for first-time
homebuyers getting back in themarket, and that is hugely
exciting to me because it's beenfor lack of a better word kind
of a boring market to me thelast couple of years because
it's just been going through themotions.
(26:32):
You know you have some guybuying a house from California
which hey, we love those too butyou know he's buying it and
paying 50 percent down and it'shis 15th mortgage and he don't
feel like he needs us and youknow that kind of thing.
So to be able to see thesefirst time homebuyers coming
back in the market, where, whereI can use my expertise to help
(26:53):
them make a difference in theirfamilies lives, that is what I
love.
Speaker 2 (26:58):
Right, that's, that is exciting, and so what are
some?
We're going to wrap up.
Steve, I think this has justbeen well number one timely,
great information, thank you,and I hope that we can do some
updates.
But what about some closingremarks before we end the
(27:19):
episode?
Speaker 3 (27:20):
Yeah.
So just want to encourageeveryone to go into this year
optimistic about buying a home.
Don't write yourself off A lotof loans we do.
Folks will think, well, I can'tbuy a home, or I can't afford
this house, or I can't afford tobuy a house in my situation.
(27:40):
You know.
Get with us and let us look atyour situation and tell you what
you need to buy a home.
Stop paying rent and puttingthe money in your landlord's
pocket.
Go ahead and take the step.
It's really something you'llnever regret, and so I would
just encourage anyone out therelooking to just take that first
(28:03):
step and the rest will make easyfor you.
So, Christine, thanks again forhaving me, and we'll hopefully
continue this on our nextpodcast with not only first time
homebu buyers but just themarket in general.
Speaker 1 (28:21):
This has been Benchmark Happenings brought to
you by Jonathan Tipton and SteveReed from Benchmark Home Loans.
Jonathan and Steve areresidential mortgage lenders.
They do home loans in NortheastTennessee and they're not only
licensed in Tennessee butFlorida, georgia, south Carolina
and Virginia.
We hope you've enjoyed the show.
(28:42):
If you did make sure to like,rate and review.
Our passion is NortheastTennessee, so if you have
questions about mortgages, callus at 423-491-5405.
And the website iswwwjonathanandstevecom.
Thanks for being with us andwe'll see you next time on
(29:04):
benchmark happenings.
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