Market Still Climbing As Sales, Prices Rise
Market Still Climbing As Sales, Prices Rise
April 10th, 2017
After looking like things might try to level off for a bit at the beginning of 2017, the market has continued to climb recently, showing no signs of stopping any time soon. Prices and sales are up across the country at unexpected levels, even as mortgage rates spiked higher last month.
Mortgage rates have actually eased a bit in the last couple weeks from their highs for the year in mid march. They’re currently hovering around 4.25% for a 30 year fixed, as opposed to the 4.45% they hit last month, though they’re expected to keep trending upward. Even as they were rising, though, we were seeing pending sales jump. We recently hit the highest levels of pending home sales numbers in 11 years!
With home sales up across the country, prices have also been climbing. CoreLogic publishes its Home Price Index (or HPI) report, and shows home prices growing at a “torrid pace” so far this year. Their president and CEO says, “Home prices are at peak levels in many major markets and the appreciation is being driven by a number of dynamics-high demand, stronger employment, lean supplies and affordability-that will continue to play out in the coming years. The CoreLogic Home Price Index is projecting an additional 5 percent rise in home prices nationally over the next 12 months.”
Although rising prices might make things more difficult for buyers entering the market, this seems to be offset by those recent gains in income and employment. Another significant factor driving sales is clearly the motivation many buyers have to “get in now”, as they anticipate the continued future growth of both prices and mortgage interest rates – something that’s virtually assured at this point, and makes buying now more attractive than waiting!
In a competitive market like this one, your REALTOR becomes even more important. You need to be able to count on them to find you the best deals amongst rising prices, or to get you the best asking price for your home while the market is hot. If you’re on the fence and wondering whether it’s a good time to buy; or if you’re a home owner looking to sell and take advantage of current price gains, talk to us about getting things started today! We’re always here to help with any of your Real Estate needs!
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