What’s Up (And Down) With The Housing Market

Did you know that the housing market changes with the seasons? For instance, winter buyers are fewer and farther between than summer buyers- which makes perfect sense. Who in their right mind what’s to brave -10 degree weather to house hunt? Yes Floridians, we know you can house hunt in shorts year-round and we’re jealous.

The RE markets that aren’t located in the sunshine state take a bit of a hit each year as the weather cools. This turns what were once sellers markets into buyers markets because sellers start lowering prices to sell fast before the snow starts to pile up and the market comes to a standstill.

September had the highest average of sales this year even though they stayed below last year’s numbers. Yet, sense September we’ve moved out of the peak season and the decrease in activity has added to the decrease in gains that have happened over the last two quarters (more about that in a minute).

Along with the decline in prices that buyers will see this winter, they can also take advantage of a decline in interest rates. For the first time sense last summer 30 year interest rates have dropped below 4%. So all of you buyers out there take note… This is your season!

That’s what’s down with the housing market. So what’s up?

Price increases have been steady year-over-year. For 31 consecutive months (as of last month) prices have continued to increase. We did however mention that the past two quarters have seen a year-over-year decrease, showing that the increase is possibly still slowing into the near future.

Homes sales reached over 5 million homes in September (an increase of 2.4% compared to last year). The number of homes on the market has also increased (6%) . As of September there was a 2.3 million home inventory. This translates to a little over 5 months worth of inventory.

If you are a buyer and you want to take advantage of the current market, contact a realtor or a local investor and get out there and see some houses! You never know, you could be in your new home by the new year!