Are you curious what is coming to our local housing market? Do you want to know what will happen in 1 year or 5 years? Me too. We all do, however, we don’t know for sure. What we can look at are some predictors. On the national level, existing home sales are down 1.2% but the pending home sales are up 4.6%. These numbers seem to be a typical seasonal rebound from the holidays. Locally, however, we have seen a larger than average days on market for homes currently listed. In addition, a slightly lower than average sales price. This could mean that the market is slowing locally OR we are still coming back from the regular holiday slow down. Spring is normally a time when we see more homes sold. March and April numbers will tell us if our seasonal trend is continuing or not. Stay tuned!
Sales Price
Based on the above stats, please review the following ideas to help guide your decisions:
Investing
This is the same as last month….IF you can find an under market value property, it is always a great time to buy. If you are going to buy a single family home or condo on market to invest, you MUST know the area very well to determine if it is in a pocket that is highly desirable. If you find a good deal, now may be a sweet spot in the market. There are some homes that have been on the market for too long with hungry sellers and rates have dropped. As always, a careful evaluation of what your monthly mortgage will be and your future monthly rental income would reveal what your best option is.
Buying
Rates are low and there are some pretty good deals out there for homes that have been on the market for a long time. Most people buy in late spring and summer, so this may be your chance. Are you prepared? Have you spoken with your mortgage professional to clearly understand what you can qualify for? Do you fully know your monthly budget? Doing these tasks can prepare you for when the time is right.
Selling
Now is still an overall good time to sell. Home values are up and inventory is down from the holiday slow down. Remember, don’t trust Zillow’s Zestimate completely. Its good, but you’ve got to talk to an agent who can price your home accurately based on all the aspects the home represents not just an algorithm. Be sure to price competitively so you don’t get stuck on the market for very long.
If you liked these stats please reach out and let me know about it! If you have any questions about the Real Estate market or the process of buying or selling a home please contact me. Contact me today if you are ready to buy or sell a home.
Derrick Timmons
805.807.3987
realtortimmons@gmail.com
www.derricktimmons.com