I wanted to look into the stats as it's time for another update and the market slow down is noticeable. Below is a chart showing home sales from last year compared to this year. It's safe to say the average amount of homes selling right roughly 1/2 of what the activity was last year. Everyone in the industry will tell you we're feeling the pinch. Companies are cutting back on overhead, supplies and manpower.
With this slow down though, what are we seeing with prices? Homes are selling at 94% of original asking price. This is something to take note. Buyers are sensitive to their monthly payments. The rise in interest rates has a direct effect in your monthly payment. Lenders are trying to get creative with seller credits to buy down the rates so monthly payments are affordable; however, I'm not sure I would go that route. In general, I think I would focus on the lower purchase price. One can assume rates will come back down and you'll be able to refinance at that time. I think it's a calculated risk. Property taxes are based on sales price so I prefer to keep that as low as possible too.
This isn't a typical year so far. A lot of people are staying put with the current rate they have on their house. There's not much motivation to move right now. Prices are holding strong considering how much rates have gone up. Inventory in our area of active / pending is around 1400 units, where in years past it's around 4500 units. That's roughly 1/3 of the activity that we're used to having. I think we're about to see some inventory come available in the coming month. The weather has likely kept people in place, we're going to have a late spring.
I have several properties I'm currently working on that will be on the market soon. If you're looking to make a move, feel free to contact me to help strategize a game plan. I have good lenders I can recommend and explain how to structure things to accommodate your timing.
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