Allison Larson | Novus Home Mortgage

Allison Larson

Branch Manager, Novus Home Mortgage

Allison’s social character is what drives her to build such a strong foundation with her clients from day one. She believes fostering current relationships, while continuously extending a hand to new affiliations is what keeps her professional life successful and exciting. By creating an environment where people feel comfortable asking questions and expressing their housing goals, she’s able to cater her methods to each unique individual.

There's been a lot of rhetoric around mortgage rates in the past year. As a mortgage broker, what do you see from behind the curtain?

Mortgage products and interest rates are truly pretty temporary, where as the home you purchase you are holding on to long term. Clients get really stuck on trying to time interest rates or what is happening in the market – when in reality, they might get a mortgage now and then end up refinancing it in 6 months for a lower rate. Right now no one should be thinking of the mortgage they are entering as their ‘permanent financing’ but really what is the best short term option to help build long term wealth.

What's the biggest misconception you are encountering about mortgages and markets?

Interest rates are not black and white. There are 30+ contributing factors that go into calculating a clients interest rate. That paired with the fact that the market is continuously moving, it is imperative to work with a lender who is educated on monitoring the market and who has access to more than one investor for their loan options.

One of your specialties is loans for condos. How do you find that mortgages for condos and townhomes are different than for single family homes?

Condo financing can be very black and white, and sometimes not at all. It is imperative that you are working with a lender that knows the intricacies of the different associations or you could be at risk of not closing on time, potentially losing your earnest money, or other financial risks.

Do you have any words of advice for people looking to purchase right now? 

Do not try and ‘time the market.’ The Schwab Group did a study on the stock market that I think compares really well to trying to time the real estate market. Everyone wants to buy low and sell high even though studies show best practice is to just let the stock market run its course for long term gains. Six out of the ten WORST trading days in US History have been within one week of the BEST trading days in US History.

 For example, if you take your money in and out of the market trying to time it out just right; there are 10 days over the last 20 years that if your money was not in the market, instead of your rate of return being 8.4% over 20 years... it drops all the way to 4.2%. If you missed 20 key days out of 20 years then it drops to a 2% return; if you missed 30 of the best trading days you are in the hole.

 Real Estate is not a get rich quick scheme, it’s a long term vehicle for building wealth.

What can a buyer do to make a transaction as easy as possible?

Plan ahead – if you know you want to buy next summer; talk to a loan officer now and start planning your finances and make sure you have yourself in the best financial health to be purchasing when the time is right.

What are your predictions about the market in 2023? 

I truly believe the housing market will continue to stay really strong, especially in the Twin Cities. Right now there are 121k people that can afford to purchase that are currently renting in Hennepin county, but yet there are only 2 homes for sale for every 1,000 people; this means we still have a ton of demand and that is what will help keep the housing market strong and contribute to continued healthy appreciation year over year.