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You don’t have to be a realtor to see that the market has shifted and there has been a lot of real estate activity lately both nationally and locally. Multiple offers, full price offers, & bidding wars have become increasingly more common just recently. The great news is that it’s not only the less expensive homes experiencing traction like we saw during spring and early summer. While the more expensive homes of most areas may be short on buyers, the medium price range is definitely heating up. As inventory drops and the quantity of buyers remains high, we find ourselves reversing the market from a buyers market to a sellers market. What does all of that mean? Home values will begin or should continue to go up. A national real estate website says asking prices for homes have been up for 7 months in a row and that puts them up 2.3% vs a year ago. (the largest year over year gain since the housing downturn began).
How are we doing locally? Whatcom county pended 7% more homes during the summer months than the same period last year. That is significant but what’s more significant is that this happened while inventory levels dropped about 15%! If inventory drops and yet sales remain as high or higher than where they were a year ago we are definitely trending the right direction. This also means that if you are trying to make a move to take advantage of historically low interest rates I wouldn’t wait any longer. The boat has already left the port!
With anticipation of the upcoming presidential election I predict rates will begin an upward trend relatively soon. Even if you’re not looking to purchase a new live-in home or investment property I would strongly consider refinancing. I just refinanced for 15 years and locked in at 2.875%. That’s a substantial savings! For every $100,000 of a loan you borrow a 1% increase equates to about $12,000 in cost over the life of the loan. So if you have a $300,000 mortgage and the rate increases by 1% (very likely it could be more) that would cost $36,000 over the life of the loan. If you need some direction here give me a call and I can point you to a recommended loan officer to review your personal situation.
I need your help!…Would you consider pausing for just 30 seconds and ask yourself…”Who do I know that may be looking to make a move in the next 3-6 months?” Would you be willing to share with me that person(s) that comes to your mind? I will reward you handsomely!
