Chuck Barberini Real Estate

  If you’re planning to buy your next home soon, you’ve probably heard the old rule about saving 20% for your down payment. The truth is, you usually don’t have to. Plenty of loan options let qualified buyers put down much less. But a lot of repeat buyers are choosing to put down 20% anyway. So, why are they if they don’t have to? Two reasons. They know a bigger down payment pays off, and after years in their current house, they’ve built up enough equity that it’s finally possible. Repeat Buyers Put More Money Down According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), the typical repeat buyer puts down 23% when they buy a home (see graph below): That’s more than double the 10% they may have put down as a first-time buyer. So, how do they manage it? Their equity . When you’ve owned a house for a while, two things tend to happen. One, you pay down your mortgage, and two, your home’s value climbs. The difference between what you still owe on your mortgage and what your house is w...

  “Just Thinking" I know, I know, here he goes again, talking Giants baseball. How could I not, the Giants are in the news… “Fire Sale”. With the trade deadline fast approaching, Buster posted a sign, everything must go, make us an offer. I remember back when we read newspapers, going straight to the Green Section, first thing I did was check the standings in both leagues, then checked the home run leaders, next the batting average leaders. No Green Pages to check, but I did check the standings today, although, not in last place, the Giants currently sit at 48-67, 21 games out of first place.  With 47 games remaining to play, the low water mark from 1985 when they, we, suffered through a 100-loss season may be well within reach. The two of the trades that were pretty much inevitable, but hurt the most, were Luis Arraez, Heliot Ramos. Luis Arraez was batting 324 when he left the Giants, he was truly one of the bright spots this season, super fun to watch both offensively and de...

  Check Out This Weeks Newsletter Ryan Serhant tells CNBC there’s "no longer a housing market" in America. Here’s what he meant and what agents can take from it. “There is no longer a housing market in the United States…” Those are Ryan Serhant’s words in response to one of the questions posed during a Fast Money panel conversation on CNBC. The CEO of SERHANT. went on to say “there are four Americas,” describing the four different players in the market right now: Cash buyers Buyers who need financing Homeowners locked into 3% mortgages Homebuilders Each of those players experiences the market differently. That’s the point Serhant was making. Some players have more pull than others. Some are struggling to play their part.  The Four Americas Serhant Is Seeing on the Ground Serhant broke down the four groups when asked about strength in the luxury market. “There is no longer a housing market in the United States… There are four Americas. There are cash buyers who live in a compl...

 Imagine waiting a year to buy a home, only to find mortgage rates haven't changed much. That may sound frustrating. But it's a real possibility. A lot of people are putting their plans on hold because they believe much lower mortgage rates are right around the corner. But, based on today's forecasts, that may not happen. And you should know that before you decide what to do. Let's look at why experts don't expect a dramatic drop in rates – and the options that could help you buy anyway. Because even if rates don’t fall, you can still move. Here’s how. 1. Mortgage Rates Aren’t Expected To Fall in a Meaningful Way If you're waiting for rates to fall, you're not alone. A recent survey from Clever-Best Interest found 42% of people believe mortgage rates will drop below 5% this year. The challenge is, that's not what the experts who study mortgage rates every day are expecting. Forecasts from Fannie Mae, the Mortgage Bankers Association , and Wells Fargo ...

 If you're a homeowner getting ready to move, one question usually comes first: should you buy your next home before you sell, or sell your current house before you start looking? There's no single right answer. The best call depends on your finances, your local market, and your timeline. And a trusted agent can help you weigh all of it. But in a lot of cases these days, selling first puts you in the stronger spot. The Advantages of Selling First Selling is usually the trickier half of a move today, so getting it done first clears your biggest hurdle. And that’s especially true right now, because there are more homes for sale than there are buyers, which means houses are taking longer to sell than they did a year or two ago. So how does leading with your sale pay off? Let’s start with the money. 1. You Won’t Get Stuck Paying Two Mortgages Buy before you sell, and you could end up carrying two mortgages at once. And especially since houses are staying on the market longer these...

  “Just Thinking" I know that over the past few weeks I have been sounding like Clint Eastwood in Gran Torino, with his blunt observations about how neighborhoods and generations change over time. “Get the hell off my lawn.” If it’s any consolation, my inner dialog is much more intense than what I write down in “Just Thinking”. Baseball and the Giants are taking the brunt of my ire, but I have also taken shots at “The City” and some societal norms that have changed too fast. So, number 2 son, Chris, sent me an epic rant by John Gruden the other day from an interview with Jake Marsh that was reminiscent of Kevin Costner's rant in Bull Durham when he is asked what he believes in and it really hit home. Here’s the coach. Jake Marsh asks Gruden. what's something you liked 10 or 20 years ago that you wish would be brought back now? Then Chuckie goes off: I like the continuity on these rosters. I think having a different offensive coordinator or a different defensive coordinator...

  Check Out This Weeks Newsletter Demand remains steadier than forecast as buyers, builders adapt. For the past few years, many observers assumed that a sustained period of higher mortgage rates would cause homebuying demand to stall. Activity has certainly slowed compared to the pandemic boom, but it's far from a stall. Buyers haven't disappeared. They've adapted. New-home sales increased in June, according to the Census Bureau/U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s New Residential Sales report, while inventory edged slightly lower. Home prices for new-builds also moved down. Taken together, those numbers paint a picture of a market that remains surprisingly resilient. The pace of sales is hardly booming, but buyers are still entering the market at a rate that many people would have considered unlikely given today’s financing costs. Why builders continue to find buyers One reason new-home sales have held up better than many expected is that builders have tools ...

  If you own a luxury house, you're in a stronger spot than most sellers right now. While much of the market has cooled, the high-end tier hasn't. Sale prices and buyer demand are both up. So if you're considering selling, now could be a great time to make your move. Luxury Is Leading on Price Let’s start with prices. But before we get into it – what actually counts as a luxury home? Generally, these are homes in the top 5% price range for the area, so it varies depending on where you live. But what’s interesting is that according to the latest data from Redfin, sale prices for luxury houses have risen about three times faster than for non-luxury. Right now, the typical home’s sale price is up about 1.5% year-over-year. But high-end homes? Their sale prices have gone up nearly 5% since last year ( see graph below ): That’s a bigger deal than it sounds like. Despite all the talk about slowing price growth lately, sale prices in this segment of the market may be rising faste...

  Check Out This Weeks Newsletter   Housing costs rank as the top political issue for voters ages 18 to 34 heading into the 2026 midterms, according to CNBC's Q2 2026 survey. Housing costs just beat out food prices and protecting democracy on one of the closest-watched political surveys of the year.  CNBC’s Q2 2026 All-America Economic Survey polled 1,000 registered voters between July 8 and 12, and found that among voters ages 18 to 34, housing costs ranked as the single most important issue facing the country. And while both parties contributed to the passing of the ROAD to Housing Act, which became law earlier this month, the survey shows voters are more likely to trust Democrats to make housing more affordable.  Here’s a closer look at what the survey found, and what it means heading into the 2026 midterms. Why Housing Is Topping the List for Young Voters Housing ranked as the top issue overall for voters 18 to 34. It also ranked first for men ages 18 to 49, and ...

  “Just Thinking" I was watching the Giants play the Mariners the other night, yeah, I know, I'm a glutton for punishment. When the Mariners' first baseman came up to bat, I had to do a double take. His look was so unique that I immediately grabbed my phone to find out who he was. It turned out to be Josh Naylor, once I looked him up, I remembered seeing him during last year's playoffs, but on this night, it was his appearance that really caught my attention. Naylor is a big, heavy-set guy with a scruffy beard, and he looked like he had assembled his uniform randomly from different eras of baseball fashion. He was wearing a multi-colored headband under his helmet, a baggy jersey, and his baggy pants were pulled up above his knees. He wore solid-colored socks, probably compression tights extending all the way up, like Heliot Ramos. To top it off, he had on black cleats with thick white soles that extended up the sides, that looked like a pair of slip-on Skechers. The wh...

  Remember how exciting it was to buy your first place? It felt like crossing a long-awaited finish line. It gave you a place to build your life. Maybe it’s where you lived when you got married. Or where you welcomed a child or a pet into the family. But that was just the beginning. For most people, your first house was never meant to be your forever home. It’s a stepping stone for what comes next. And if your life looks different today than it did when you got the keys, you’re not stuck. Moving may be more realistic than you think. Starter Home Inventory Is Still Relatively Low If you've been wondering whether now is the right time to move up, here's something worth knowing. Starter homes remain one of the hardest types of homes to find. And that's good news if you're thinking about selling your first place. Historically, we haven’t been building enough homes for first-time buyers. And even though homebuilders have shifted more attention toward smaller, entry-level hom...

Today's home prices have a lot of buyers – especially first-time buyers – wondering if there’s even anything out there that’s in their budget. But owning a home may be more within reach than you think. Sometimes, it just means considering a different type of home. Condos and townhomes can be a great way to buy without stretching every last dollar. And right now, two things make them worth a serious look. There Are More Condos and Townhomes To Choose From Maybe you feel like there’s just nothing out there for you, and you’ve exhausted all your options. But have you considered condos or townhomes? A lot of buyers start by looking for a single-family, detached home without even realizing what that search omits from their pool of choices. According to HousingWire Data , there were 233,030 condos and townhomes for sale this June. That's more than any June in at least the past decade, and more than double the number available back in 2022 ( see graph below ): That means there are mo...

If you’ve thought about buying a home in the past few years, you may have run into two frustrations: asking prices that kept climbing and too few homes to choose from. In many places, both sticking points are letting up this summer, with lower asking prices and more homes for sale. Let’s look at the trends, and what they mean for your search. Sellers Are Pricing To Attract Buyers According to Realtor.com , the national median asking price was $430,000 in June, nearly $11,000 under what it was the year before (see graph below) That’s the eighth month in a row that the typical asking price has dipped below where they were the previous year, according to the same Realtor.com report. And while falling prices can sound worrying, this isn’t a sign of an impending crash. We’re talking about asking prices, not sold prices. This is a sign that today’s sellers are meeting the market where it is and pricing to draw buyers. And that’s actually something normal we’d expect from the market. As Dani...