Whenever you listen to various news stores about the real estate market you find that everyone has a different opinion, making it very difficult to determine how healthy the market really is.
With the increase in home prices should I wait to sell my home now before it levels off? Am I too late to buy a home? What’s happening with the interest rate and how does it effect me?
The reality is that real estate is a very local business which makes it difficult to determine your own success based on stories you hear on national news. It might surprise you to know that the market can vary depending on the price point, neighborhood and sometimes even the street on which the home is located. What is happening in the first-time homebuyers market may be completely different from the single family home market. Even the luxury home market has its own formula to determine days on market and price points which varies greatly. There is no cookie cutter situation for every home.
The National Association of Realtors (NAR) revealed that the sales prices in over half of the markets measured since 2005 are now at or above their previous peak level. The median price for an existing single-family home during the last three months of 2016 increased in 89 percent of the markets tracked, with 158 out of 178 metropolitan statistical areas showing sales price increases in the fourth quarter of 2016 compared to the fourth quarter of 2015. That trend is continuing in 2017.
In all of 2016, an average of 87 percent of the markets NAR studied saw increasing home prices which is up from the averages in 2015 and 2014. “Buyers interest stayed elevated in most areas thanks to mortgage rates under 4 percent for most of the year and the creation of 1.7 million new jobs edging the job market closer to full employment,” explained NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun. “At the same time, the inability for supply to catch up with this demand drove prices higher and continued to put a tight affordability squeeze on those trying to reach the market.”
Yun also noted that depressed inventory of new and existing homes led to “several of the largest metro areas seeing near or above double-digit appreciation, which has pushed home values to record highs in a slight majority of markets.”
If you are considering the sale or purchase of a home here are some things to consider:
1) Don’t rely on the daily news reports about real estate to determine your level of success with your home sale or purchase. National data can only provide an overall snapshot of the market as a whole. Specific factors in your own hometown or neighborhood will give a more specific projection of your results. There are some specific points that will determine your outcome. How many homes are on the market, time of year, specific features of your home, neighborhood and city to name a few. There are various pieces of data that factor in to this decision.
2) The market is what it is. When the time is right for you to make a home change that is likely the best time to make that change. It’s difficult to guess what the future market will do at any given time and waiting for that magic date is next to impossible. Often home sales or purchases are done for a specific reason; promotion or job change, downsizing, retirement, family changes, the list goes on. It’s best to make the change to your home in tandem with your own personal life changes or situation.
3) You have access to experts that can help you. There are several variables that can determine your success and I am here to help guide you through the process. There is much data available and I can help you evaluate the data to help you determine what action is best for you.