Rosie's Winter 2022-23 Real Estate Market Update!
February 2023 UPDATE!!!
Back in 2020 the “pandemic real estate market” took off like a tsunami wave! At first buyers were cautious about leaving their homes and walking into homes that were on the market. Sellers also didn’t feel comfortable having people walk through their homes during the first few weeks of the lockdown. To help boost the economy the government decided interest rates needed to be drastically reduced to an unheard of rate below 3%. This resulted in one of the hottest real estate markets in our lifetime! Home buyers responded overwhelming by purchasing properties. Inventory levels (homes for sale on the market) could not sustain the surge in buyer activity, which created a lopsided supply vs. demand situation. This led to inflated prices in the market for homes and the low interest rate model pushed by the government could not be sustained. With inflation on the rise, interest rates needed to be raised. The Federal Reserve raised rates to almost 8%! This cooled off the hot sellers’ market and balanced this out.
Ok, there is your quick recap of where we were… but where are we now?
The past 6 months saw a shift in the market. The bidding wars went away and prices stabilized. Home sellers that were waiting to list their homes “until the market got better” are starting to come of the sidelines to meet the newly renewed buyer demand. Interest rates seem to be settling in to more of a consistent range of 5-7%, but are continuing to fluctuate day to day. For example, just last week, the Federal Reserve lowered interest rates by 0.25%. Early indicators of home buyer demand, including tour requests and mortgage applications, are increasing from their low point last year. All economists agree on one thing: You never know you hit the bottom or the top until it happens.
The market indicators are reflecting that the interest rates are settling in, home sellers are more realistic on pricing, and home buyers are now understanding that waiting for interest rates to fall below 5% is not going to happen anytime soon.
Takeaway for Sellers...
The bottom-line is the market is starting to heat up again and now is a great time to list your home to capture the market!
Takeaways for Buyers...
It’s also a great time for buyers as sellers are more realistic about their price, willing to give concessions, and (for the time being) competition is more manageable for the average home buyer.
If you are thinking of buying or selling please contact us ASAP, we would love to help you! It's a once in a lifetime buyer's market! It's also a great time to sell, prices are up from last year and there are tons of serious buyers out there!
