What’s Going On In The Market?

Everyone has an opinion:

       Buyers aren’t buying                            There is not enough home’s on the market  

                        Prices are too high                            Interest rates have gone up

The market is cold     Housing market is slowing down     Buyers won’t make solid offers

                                                         What should we believe?

Too help with some of the answers we have included a snap shot of today's market below:

Greater Sacramento Area

            Facts:

            Number of homes for sale increased by about 1200 homes over the last 15 months

            Number of sales have stayed steady for about the last 6 months

            Months of inventory has gone from 1.4 to 2.6

            Average sold price - 280K to 309K

            Average Dollars per square foot - $162 to $178

            Days on market   23-33

(Of course this a very from area to area, if you want specific information please call either of us at 916-544-2066 or    916 425-1100)

Unquestionably, we have more homes on the market which means homes are staying on the market a longer period of time.  Homes sold have stayed about the same because of a couple of things higher home prices, tighter restrictions on what buyers are qualified to buy , world events, kids are back in school, and the holidays.  Months of inventory is still showing in a seller’s market range, but we do see some sellers reducing prices, or willing to pay some of the closing costs. 

What Do We Think?

Our feeling is it is still a good time to buy or sell based on the advantages to buyers and sellers:

                        Buyers                                                                         Sellers

 Interest rates are still low (4% and below)                Market is holding steady on price

 More choices of homes                                                  More buyers qualify before rates go up

 Less chance of competition on homes                        Buy your new home at low rates

 Most homes still in buyers price range                       Inventory still says seller’s market

 Close now for this year’s tax credit                              Homes still selling in reasonable time 

 Be in a new home for the holidays                                                      frames 

 Expected price increases in 2015    

Still more cost effective than renting     

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are both in the process of considering loosening rules for buyers which will help both buyers and sellers.   

Buying a home is just the opposite of playing the stock market, it is very hard to sell high and buy low.  So homeowners best bet is to buy while the interest rates are low as the savings over the span of a loan will probably be much larger than what you may gain by waiting 6-8 months for prices to go up.  Plus the home you want to buy will probably be higher.  This is a good time to downsize, upsize, or move to a different neighborhood.  There are more homes to pick from (including all the new building going on) and interest rates are still low.

We are seeing a healthy leveling-off of home price’s, the market is showing a nice normal stabilizing effect after the bumpy road behind us.