Good News On The National Real Estate Front!
Good Monday Morning!
There is some good news on the national Real Estate front! Mortgage interest rates dipped slightly last week, and this could possibly lead to rates coming down even further. Both nationally and locally, the Real Estate market has become more sluggish as of late, and my thoughts are that the one thing to start bringing the Real Estate market back is mortgage interest rate decreases. We will know more in the weeks ahead. The following is a recent article from “Realtor.com”.
Mortgage rates dipped this week, with the average rate for a 30-year fixed home loan going from 6.89% last week to 6.77% for the week ending July 18, according to Freddie Mac.
“The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage fell to its lowest level since mid-March, dropping 12 basis points from last week,” Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist, said in a statement. “Mortgage rates are headed in the right direction and the economy remains resilient, two positive incremental signs for the housing market.”
This should come as good news, but Khater also points out the following: “Homebuyers have yet to respond to lower rates, as purchase application demand is still roughly 5% below Spring, when rates were approximately the same. This is not uncommon: sometimes as rates decline, demand weakens, and the apparent paradox is driven by buyers making sure rates don’t decline further before they decide to purchase.”
Mortgage rates take a turn
For the past few months, inflated mortgage rates have sidelined both buyers and sellers, leaving them in a state of limbo.
“This week’s data revealed a housing market in a holding pattern,” notes Realtor.com® economist Ralph McLaughlin in his analysis. “The small movements we do observe this week favor buyers: no price growth, a slower market, and more price reductions.”
“Mortgage rate relief has not arrived as quickly as many expected,” adds Realtor.com economist Jiayi Xu. “But the recent downward trend is encouraging news for homebuyers who have been hindered by high rates.”
The 10-year Treasury fell last week on better than expected inflation readings, and rates also fell by 7 basis points on a year-over-year basis—the first such decline in nearly three years.
“Fortunately, June’s more moderate jobs report and cooling [consumer price index] were solid readings that should help the Fed gain more confidence that the economy is moving in the right direction and could raise hopes for a rate cut signal in the July FOMC statement,” Xu explains.
Xu says this development should help interest rates, including mortgage rates, continue to drop, especially if the economy keeps making progress.
Home prices remain flat
In June, the median home cost $445,000.
Listing prices were flat year over year for the week ending July 13, and marked 25 consecutive weeks of price growth below 1%.
Yet since the median price per square foot grew in June by 3.4%, McLaughlin says, “buyers shouldn’t necessarily rejoice just yet.”
“Price growth per square foot continues to be positive, suggesting homes are still more expensive than they were last year,” he explains.
Housing stock is up
The number of homes actively for sale continued to grow, with buyers seeing 35.8% more listings for the week ending July 13 than last year.
For the 36th straight week in a row, there were more homes listed for sale versus the previous year.
Fresh listings were also up by 8.8% for the week ending July 13 compared with 12 months ago.
New listings have increased 14 out of the past 15 weeks—which McLaughlin says should help keep prices in check.
“Looking ahead, we expect the rising inventory to gradually exert downward pressure on price growth and falling mortgage rates to help lower borrowing costs, providing more relief to potential homebuyers,” McLaughlin says.
While the number of newly listed homes increased by 6.3% annually in June, this rate is roughly half of what it was two months ago. And buyers still see more than 30% fewer homes for sale compared with before the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Broadly speaking, the number of new homes for sale remains historically low and is still below the 2017 to 2022 levels, even with recent improvements,” says McLaughlin.
Although buyers might see more houses on the market this summer than last, they will ultimately have fewer options than were typical before 2023.
The pace of home sales slows
The typical home spent 45 days on the market in June.
For the week ending July 13, the average home for sale spent five more days on the market compared with the same period last year.
This ties with last week, marking the longest additional time on the market since August 2023, according to McLaughlin.
“A longer time on the market means buyers won’t have to move as quickly as last year, while sellers will need to be more patient,” says McLaughlin.
Have An Awesome Week!
Stay Healthy! Stay Safe! Remain Positive! Trust in God!
THIS WEEKS HOT HOME LISTING!
3469 River Pointe Dr, Eugene, OR
Price: $1,169,000 Beds: 4 Baths: 3.2 Sq Ft: 3363
This is a Gorgeous and extremely well kept home in the highly sought after River Pointe neighborhood of North Gilham. This home not only has many high end extras, but it has a floor plan that suits many lifestyles. The spacious Primary Bedroom is on... View this property >>
