So, you are thinking about buying a home in 2019? You are not alone! After growing exponentially for the past couple of years, the real estate market is finally showing signs of cooling down a bit. Although home prices are still increasing, they are not doing so quite as fast as they were in past years and inventory is on the rise as well. This is excellent news for new homebuyers who may have been priced out of the market until now. Among these home hunters, Millennials take the lion’s share despite their reputation for never being ready to settle down.

 

Thanks to these new buyers and the advances in technology, the home buying process is changing as well. Gone are the days of driving by countless properties, visiting houses after houses on your days off and after work, only ending up with being disappointed by the reality after seeing blurry pictures. These tech-savvy, result-oriented new buyers are always on the lookout for tools to make the experience of buying a house more efficient and more pleasant.  Home sellers, real estate agents, mortgage officers, etc. are happy to deliver.

 

 

If you intend to buy a house in 2019, here are some of the tools at your disposal!

 

 

1. Finding the perfect house on your phone

Discovering your dream home is akin to finding a needle in a haybale. And once you have found it, there is no guarantee that your offer will be accepted so you may have to start from scratch. Even in the best-case scenario, buying a house is a time-consuming process. Thankfully, real estate agents have made identifying the homes that will fit your needs a lot easier. Thanks to virtual tours, 360-degrees pictures, and Google Earth, you can quickly decide whether the house is worth a visit or not without having to actually leave your home. Those features are often available on your real estate agent’s apps so that you can check exciting properties from anywhere.

 

 

2. Streamlining the mortgage process

Being approved for a mortgage once meant making an appointment with your banker, but not anymore. You can now apply and get pre-approved for a mortgage directly online and often very rapidly. Since the market tends to move fast, time is usually of the essence.

 

 

3. Buying a property sight unseen

Thanks to these upgrades in the home buying process, buyers don’t need to feel shy about purchasing a home sight unseen. It is excellent news for those who are moving across the country, including military personnel, who may not be up for time-consuming and expensive house hunting trip without guarantee of success. Their real estate agent will often be able to give them a tour using the video on their phone. They can then send them a contract that can be signed electronically, receive all the necessary reports and information by email. There is no need to be there for the closing, either. It is also a game-changer for real estate investors like real estate whole sellers. They can now conduct their business entirely online without the need for business trips.

 

Although buying a home in 2019 is not entirely stress-free, it is getting easier and more comfortable thanks to new advances in technology.