We hear a lot about how hot the real estate market in Springfield, MO is, but what does that mean for a buyer?  Does that mean it is a bad time to buy?  Not at all, with the low-interest rates available, now is a great time to buy that move up home.

Finding a new home is both exciting and nerve-racking at the same time.  It is hard enough to find the perfect home, now you also have to worry about getting it under contract before someone else swoops in and buys it.  With homes selling quickly, buyers are missing out on their dream homes because someone else got their first.

For buyers, this can mean a change of how you approach home buying.  A good start is spending more time upfront figuring out what you need in a new home versus what you want.  This will help you find your dream home quicker so you don’t miss out.

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Today I want to talk about something other than the hot real estate market (really it’s hot).  I want to talk about dog friendly areas around Springfield and where we can spend quality time with our dogs.  Really, who does not like talking about their good puppy dogs?

With the weather getting warmer, we start spending more time outside. If you are like me you hate to always leave your dog behind. Luckily, Springfield has many great dog friendly places.  Below are some of my favorite destinations that are dog friendly.  Some on the list might surprise you as well.

Greenway Trails

Springfield has 68 miles of Greenway Trails offering great ribbons of nature throughout the community for you and your best friend to explore.  These hard-surfaced paths have minimal grade and provide free public access and are typically along stream corridors or abandoned railroad right-of-ways. Most of the Greenway Trails connect to parks around town and are a great way to let your dog work off some of that energy.

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2017 is shaping up to be an interesting year in real estate. Lots of changes going on in our country including facing the Millennial Effect, interest rate questions and economic changes. Below are four promising trends that will shape the Springfield housing market in 2017.

Millennials rising from the basements
As millennials get older, they are increasing home ownership rates faster than in previous years, according to research from Fannie Mae. Millennials have now overtaken baby boomers as the largest generation in the U.S.  Many of Millennials entered their post-college years during one of the toughest economic periods in decades. The running joke for years has been about the number of them living at home with their parents. In some cases this was true, but the economy has improved now and with jobs more abundant, millennials are coming to the real estate market in force.

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The April housing sales numbers are in and the Christian County Housing Market is booming.  April continues the positive upward trend from 2015. The number of sold homes and pending home sales are both up double digit percentages over April 2015. This is resulting in a continued rise in sales prices and that is welcome news for home sellers.  The rising sales price coupled with lower days on market have moved Christian county into a Sellers Market.

Home sales in Christian county, MO continue to out perform last year’s sales numbers according to the Greater Springfield Board of Realtors Multiple Listing Service.  The number of sold homes for April 2016 is up over 35% compared to April 2015.  That is not a misprint, over 35%.  The average Days on Market continues to drop and is down to 79 days.

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