On this month’s update, I’m going to break down all the available stats to hopefully reveal where this market may be heading. One large stat that really stuck out to me was the fact that from May through August, we’ve actually seen the median sales price come down by around 7.5%
However, after diving a little deeper into these numbers, it’s not that the average sales price has declined, but that there have been less sales in the luxury markets. The $1.5 to $5 Million homes have seen sales decrease by about 50% of what they were in May! This affects the perceived average sales price, so don’t let the headlines that come out this month scare you into assuming anything beyond this!
Another big change was the fact that July and August saw inventory plummet! This will be an important factor to keep an eye on in the coming months. While inventory has gone down, it is still much higher than it was last year.
Mortgage Rates
Last month, mortgage rates dipped down into the 4-5% range. This month saw rates on a 30 year conventional loan go all the way back up to 6%. We saw this trend earlier this year where they rates would rise and dip, only to rise again. The jumbo loans are still the lowest at about 5.2% and the FHA and VA loans are about 5.3 to 5.5%.
With these rates up, buyer demand should diminish a tad bit and coupled with the lack of new listings we could see an overall lull to the market.
Seller Advice
Sellers, you can no longer just list your property and expect it to sell in a competitive market like this! Which means we’ve gotta list, show and advertise your property right. Now more than ever, you need a professional to help get you top dollar for your home.
Buyer Advice
This is not the time to rush into a deal, don’t be afraid to negotiate a bit! Also, while negotiating with the seller, try finding offers that work better for you. For example, perhaps ask for your closing costs to be paid for, or go for the 2-1 buy-down where you can get 2% knocked off your interest rate for the first year, 1% for the second year after which you pay regular rates again.
If you ever have any questions at all, please reach out to us!
- If you are thinking about buying or selling we would love to help!
- Visit us at TrueLocalRealty.com
- Or give us a call at 888-503-3117
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