Crystal Ball Housing Time

So many people wondering where the housing market is going. People look to me any my 'family' of agents for our opinions. So we share them. And, while between the three of us, we have 40+ years experience, we are still just using that experience to project what we expect will happen. Not what we absolutely know will happen. 

2024 is likely going to swing the market a bit. It's been an intense Sellers market for several years now. Interest rates are below 8, but not by much. I've seen a few price reductions already too. California home insurance costs and availability will continue to plague. 

Good side to be thankful for? Inflation is easing just a tad. If that continues, albeit slowly, we should see a further reduction in home loan interest rates. As rates creep down a bit, we'll see a few more homes on the market as it becomes an easier pill to swallow for a Seller to repurchase a home that currently has a below 5% rate.

So, it's really a huge partnership with inflation. Housing / Inflation. They go hand in hand. We need to get that under control so we can get interest rates down. Get more inventory. Get homes more affordable. Buyers want to buy, Sellers want to sell. Right now we are still in the 'need' to sell or buy, not just want.

I had a client just this week that found out what their preapproval looked like with the higher rates. Now, they are a strong 'want', but we still need to find out how we're going to make it happen financially.

Another buyer of ours was just a 'meh, I want', but they moved forward with a step loan to get into the home with expectations of rates going down to refi later.

An upcoming Seller with a tenant occupied property is having their tenants talk to a lender. They don't want to move. Would like to buy the house. But, can they? We shall see.

Interest rates, lack of inventory, inflation. If that all gets better, housing will to. So, see? While we expect it to get better, our experience says it should, we make no promises. It's just our little crystal ball we're reading for you.