Mortgage applications are up 2% from last week, marking the 4th week of increases and purchase applications rose 19% from the previous month, per Redfin.
Who Are These Buyers?
While a lot of us have seen a downturn in our production, we all still see closings happening everyday and I am sure more than once you’ve asked yourself – who are these buyers??
Talking with the 100’s of agents we consult with, it seems that most buyers right now are either first time homebuyers seeing a dip and wanting to jump in or cash investors who also see the dip and are not affected by the rising interest rates – both of these parties are looking to pick up properties at some sort of discount.
Home Sales Stay Low.
Although buyer activity is increasing each month, home sales are still lower than what we saw last spring. According to data posted by the National Association of Realtors, pending home sales were down 21.1% year over year in February – but have increased for the last three months, straight.
In February, for the first time in 12 consecutive months, existing home sales went up by 14.5%. However, sales remained 22.5% lower than in 2022.
Are prices going down or up?
That’s a question we’ve all heard quite often over the last few months and the answer is, honestly it depends where you’re looking. TheRedfin report I linked above highlights what I am talking about. Their report found price drops in 28 out of the 50 most populous US cities. The biggest drop was in Austin, Texas – where prices fell by 15.2% YOY. Four cities in California saw large drops as well, San Jose -12.9%, San Francisco -11.7%, Sacramento -11.4% and Oakland at -10.8%.
If we look toward the East and Midwest, Milwaukee saw an increase in price of 14.1% YOY, Fort Lauderdale + 8.5%, Virginia Beach +6.9%, West Palm Beach +6.7% and Providence, Rhode Island +6.4%.
The national median home sale price fell by 1.8% YOY – stopping at $360,500.
More than ever it is important for clients to work with a local expert who understands which direction values are trending in their market, so they can advise their buyers or sellers on what is best for their situation. Which means it’s more important than ever to understand your local market!
I hope you enjoyed this market focused blog and as always, OSIRS is here to help.