May You Live in Interesting Times - Issue 354

What a confusing real estate market we have at the moment.

Coming off record setting sales in 2022, with COVID hopefully in our rearview mirror, we expected a slowdown. Interest rate increases alone would have guaranteed declining sales.

What we saw was everyone crowding the sidelines like a high school dance, waiting for someone else to get on the dance floor. Buyers watched as interest rates jumped and expected a corresponding massive drop in housing prices. Home prices did drop by about 25-30% from the peak numbers - yet buyers didn’t really jump back into the fray.

Meanwhile, sellers increasingly opted out of selling when they could because they expected prices to remain at or above pandemic levels. The net result is that prices haven’t dropped as much as buyers would like to see and with pragmatism returning to the market sellers aren’t seeing the incredible bidding wars from 2022.

It’s a stalemate between buyers and sellers, and it looks like this market is going to be a grind for everyone.

I’ve said this a few times over the past 6 months, there are opportunities out there for both buyers and sellers.

Savvy sellers will realize that prices are holding for now and under the right conditions many properties are still selling in multiples. We’re just not seeing the crazy bidding from last year.

What’s hot in today’s market? If you have a home with a value between $700,000 and $1 million, it shows well, (7/10 or higher) and you price it at or slightly below the market you have a recipe for success.

We’re starting to see properties that match above, continue to move quickly and very close to list price and yes even multiple offers. While those sellers who are stuck in 2022 are sitting for weeks, if not months, trying to get their price.

Interest rates have been coming down. Bad news in the financial markets usually translates into lower fixed interest rates. But wait, weren’t rates all going up? Short term and variable all rose the most.

This past week, with the bad news about stressed international banks, investors have been flocking back to the bond market and as a result 5 year fixed mortgage rates have decreased.

You would be correct to feel some confusion around this market and I predict this market will remain confusing for some time yet.

I’ll say this again to buyers. Get off the sidelines, get working with one of our Realtors® that will aggressively seek out homes that meet your criteria. Most agents rely on the auto search feature of the MLS system and passively wait for properties to pop up. We coach our agents to be more proactive and get digging in the corners for properties that will work for their clients.

Don’t be that buyer or seller that sits on the sidelines.

PS: On April 25th from 7:00-8:30 PM, our brokerage is hosting Become an Empowered Homeowner.

Want to learn more about investment properties, using real estate professionals to help you find the ideal properties and opportunities? Sign up here to learn from the pros and how to empower your future.

Thanks for reading.

Have a great weekend.

Paul