What You Can Expect From The Spring Housing Market
Here's a look at what experts say you can expect this spring
1. Mortgage Rates Will Climb
The Federal Reserve raising short-term rates and signaling further increases means mortgage rates should continue to rise over the course of the year.
If you're a first-time buyer or a seller thinking of moving to a home that better fits your needs, realize that waiting will likely mean you'll pay a higher mortgage rate on your purchase. And that higher rate drives up your monthly payment and can really add up over the life of your loan.
2. Housing Inventory Will Increase
If you're a seller, listing now instead of waiting for this additional competition to hit the market makes sense. Your leverage in any negotiation during the sale will be impacted as additional homes come to market.
3. Home Prices Will Rise
During the final two weeks of the month, more new sellers entered the market than during the same time last year. . . . However, with 5.8 million new homes missing from the market and millions of millennials at first-time buying ages, housing supply faces a long road to catching up with demand.
Won't Increasing Mortgage Rates Cause Home Prices To Fall?
While some people may believe a 1% increase in mortgage rates will impact demand so dramatically that home prices will have to fall, experts say otherwise. Doug Duncan, Senior Vice President and Chief Economist at Fannie Mae, says:
What I will caution against is making the inference that interest rates have a direct impact on house prices. That is not true.
Freddie Mac studied the impact that mortgage rates increasing by at least 1% has had on home prices in the past. Here are the results of that study:
Bottom Line
There are three things that seem certain going into the spring housing market:
Mortgage rates will continue to rise
The selection of homes available for sale will modestly improve
Home prices will continue to appreciate, just at a slightly slower pace
If you're thinking of buying, act now before mortgage rates and home prices increase further. If you're thinking of selling, your best bet may be to sell soon so you can beat the increase in competition that's about to come to market.
Contact Loan On Time for experienced representation when buying or selling property in California. Visit www.loanontime.com or call 888-220-6680.