Spring is typically the busiest season in real estate, but after the last three years of incredible highs (sales) and concerning lows (inventory), a calm spring market this time around may evoke a sigh of relief for anxious buyers and hesitant sellers. While overwhelming competition and soaring home prices may not be your most challenging hurdle this season, you can expect to give attention to some of the following concerns in the coming months.
Listing inventory will likely still be a sore spot heading into the spring market. The low interest rates and high sales of 2020 and 2021 caused our region to dip further and further into record-low inventory. January’s Month’s Supply of Inventory was at 1.27 while February dipped to 1.24.
Mortgage rates continue to creep higher at about 7% despite hopes of leveling off. This, coupled with low inventory, could cause sellers to do a couple of things — like hunker down in their current home to avoid forfeiting lower rates acquired during the height of the pandemic or list at a higher sales price to get all they can out of their home. If inflation rates don’t see significant changes, it’s not likely we’ll see favorable dips in mortgage rates.
Home prices won’t likely see the dramatic roller coaster ride we saw in the early days of the pandemic. The median sales price of homes sold in January was $303,000 and only jumped up by 3.5% month-over-month in February at $313,650.
The days a home sits on the market continue to stretch. January saw homes sit on the market for a median of 27days. February’s median days on market trimmed off a week compared to January with homes sitting on the market for a median of 20 days. Since March 2022, the median days on market increased month after month until this recent dip. If February proves itself to be a temporary deviation and the prior trend continues, it could be a win for both buyers and sellers. Buyers can take their time looking for the right home, and sellers don’t have to move out so hastily or worry about negotiating the need to remain on the property past a desired period of time because they haven’t found a home of their own to move to.
While the market isn’t red hot anymore, you can take your time and talk with an agent. Connect with one of more than 9,000 agents to help you navigate the market. Ready to buy but you’re not sure what you can afford? Check out the mortgage calculator to help estimate possible monthly payments. Download the REIN.com app and put the power of fresh and accurate listing data in the palm of your hand. The app is available free in the App Store and Google Play Store. For local listings you can trust, start with REIN.com.
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