Spotlight on the Market

• It is a great time to buy a new construction home with end of the year incentives to Buyers.  Home Builders with lower interest rates on their product do not want to refinance at a higher interest rate so they are pushing for home sales at year end.

• For existing homes sales, the Fall months are the months with the least amount of competition for homes translating to better pricing and terms for buyers.

• New Home Builders are desperate to sell their homes calling on the big bulk rental investors to buy them at discounted rates.

• New home construction sales traffic was the lowest in September since 2012.

• MLS shows sales were up year over year for new construction and the prices increased 10% but that may be attributable to the new construction homes not being readily listed in the last year due to demand and not needing to cooperate with realtors as much as today.

• Home sales have been declining throughout the U.S. with Houston experiencing a 17% decline this last month.

• Interest rates now have pushed average monthly payments to almost $1000 more than 12 months ago.

• Fannie Mae forecasting suggest that home sales will decline 17% this year and another 13% next year in 2023.  Counter to this, home prices will still increase but at a much lower pace.

• Seventy-Five per cent of people surveyed think this is a bad time to purchase a home and sixty-four per cent think interest rates will go up in the next twelve months.

Should I Buy Now or Wait?

There are several ways to look at this question and it is relative to each person’s situation.  If the interest rates go up further, then you will have to wait longer for them to come down…if they do.  I have seen 17% interest rates in the 1980’s.  All agree that the price of homes, while slowing down rapidly, will continue to appreciate in value each year.  With that said, how much equity appreciation are you losing to set on the sidelines?  Does this equity appreciation offset the higher interest rate you may pay?  If the interest rates do drop and you are paying more, then you have the option to refinance at a lower rate.