It could be time to purchase a house—now

The housing market is cooling as consumers grow weary of higher mortgage rates. In December, the variety of newly-listed homes sold had fallen about 37% from a yr ago, in line with Redfin data.

What are real estate professionals seeing on the bottom?

Seana Smith of Yahoo Finance Live recently sat down with Kathy Casey, a Coldwell Banker residential brokerage realtor in Denver, Indianapolis-based Dan O’Brien, a realtor at Trueblood Real Estate, and Sir Ashley Harrison, real estate broker on the Harrison Group with Fathom Realty in Charlotte, North Carolina (video above).

The underside line: a pronounced drop in consumer demand.

“We’re seeing more inventory, but [fewer] latest listings, and buyer demand has fallen off. And we’re getting lots more seller concessions, but pricing has remained very sticky,” said Casey.

Added O’Brien: “So, things are lasting slightly bit longer in the marketplace. Days in the marketplace is up. However the median sales price continues to be up 9% or so yr over yr. But buyer demand has actually slowed down with those rising rates of interest.”

The trio also noted the rising prevalence of buyer’s concessions — nearly 42% of home sellers gave such incentives in the course of the last three months of 2022, in line with Redfin. Such concessions include lower closing costs, money toward repairs, and a rise in mortgage-rate buy-downs. As an illustration: a rise of “2-1 buy-downs,” an agreement that enables homebuyers to pay lower rates of interest on the primary two years of their mortgage loans.

“That is what’s really helping buyers … get into the homes that they need, too, because affordability is essential here in Colorado,” said Casey. “Just to present you some perspective, our home prices have doubled within the last 10 years. And so wages just cannot sustain with that. So, anything to assist the buyers get into the home is what sellers are doing right away.”

O’Brien said the identical thing is going on in Indianapolis. “Individuals are getting creative with the mortgage lending. Different banks are offering various kinds of mortgage products to assist with that increased mortgage rate,” said O’Brien.

Staff lay a foundation at a brand new home construction site in Trappe, Maryland, on October 28, 2022. – Latest home sales within the US dipped in September, official data showed on October 26, 2022, as worsening affordability nudges ownership further out of reach for a lot of. Sales soared in the course of the coronavirus pandemic as Americans snapped up homes on the back of bargain mortgage rates, however the sector has cooled with the US Federal Reserve mountain climbing lending rates because it fights to bring down surging inflation. (Photo by Jim WATSON / AFP) (Photo by JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images)

Time to purchase?

Despite softer demand, North Carolina stays one hottest markets. (Zillow recently ranked Charlotte the primary hottest housing market.) Harrison said now is likely to be the time to purchase. “If you’ve got been on the margins and couldn’t get your offer accepted up to now two years, now could be the time to maneuver. Although rates of interest are slightly higher, you are not competing with as many individuals.”

All three experts ultimately predicted that mortgage rates would fall by the top of the yr together with a rise in buyer activity. Mortgage rates currently sit at 6.33% for a 30-year conventional loan, in line with Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey. That is in comparison with the three.45% in the course of the same time last yr.

“So, when you’re trying to buy, don’t wait because you should get on the market before the remainder of the market jumps back in that is been on the sidelines,” Casey said.

Dylan Croll is a reporter and researcher at Yahoo Finance. Follow him on Twitter at @CrollonPatrol.

Read the most recent financial and business news from Yahoo Finance

Download the Yahoo Finance app for Apple or Android

Follow Yahoo Finance on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Flipboard, LinkedIn, and YouTube

Leave a Comment

Copyright © 2025. All Rights Reserved. Finapress | Flytonic Theme by Flytonic.