Two positive trends have started to emerge that impact the 2019 Spring Housing Market. Mortgage interest rates for a 30-year fixed rate loan have dropped to new lows, right as reports show that wages have increased at their highest rate in decades! These two factors have helped keep housing affordable despite low supply of houses for sale driving up prices. First American’s Chief Economist, Mark Fleming, explains the impact, “Ongoing supply shortages remain the main driver of the performance gap as the … [Read more...]

Interest rates for a 30-year fixed rate mortgage have been on the decline since November, now reaching lows last seen in January 2018. According to Freddie Mac’s latest Primary Mortgage Market Survey, rates came in at 4.12% last week! This is great news for anyone who is planning on buying a home this spring! Freddie Mac had this to say, “Mortgage interest rates have been steadily declining since the start of 2019. These lower mortgage interest rates combined with a strong labor market should attract … [Read more...]

Every month, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) releases their Seller Traffic Index as a part of their Realtors Confidence Index. In the latest release, NAR reported that homeowners have been reluctant to sell their houses. This is reflected when broken down by state. Only 11 states have a stable level of seller traffic compared to the remainder of the country, which came in with a weak rating. As we can see in the following table, the number of people who moved last year is half of what the rate was in the … [Read more...]

If you are debating purchasing a home right now, you are probably getting a lot of advice. Though your friends and family have your best interests at heart, they may not be fully aware of your needs and what is currently happening in the real estate market. Ask yourself the following three questions to help determine if now is a good time for you to buy in today’s market. 1. Why am I buying a home in the first place? This is truly the most important question to answer. Forget the finances for a minute. Why … [Read more...]

Just like our clocks this weekend, in the majority of the country, the housing market will soon “spring forward!” Similar to tension in a spring, the lack of inventory available for sale has been holding back the market. Many potential sellers believe that waiting until Spring is in their best interest. Traditionally, they would have been right. Buyer demand has seasonality to it. Usually, this falls off in the winter months, especially in areas of the country impacted by arctic … [Read more...]