For my friends in real estate and my friends that are buyers and sellers… some real estate market observations thanks to my friends over at Altos:
We all know that a change in mortgage rates reduces the real estate sales rate and vice versa. With the highest mortgage rates in 20 years, a few observations:
35% of sellers are taking a price decline from the initial sales price, which is ticking up slightly. Austin, Texas, has the highest level of price cuts, with nearly 50% of listed homes with a price cut. The lowest? Irvine, California, at 15% of homes listed.
There are 10% fewer homes on the market now than this time last year. The inventory of homes for sale tends to peak at the end of August – yet not this year with higher rates – inventory might continue to rise past normal seasonality.
Late August Observations…
- Unsold homes ticked up this week.
- Inventory gain week over week is the highest in a few months – and good news for your buyers that can afford to buy
- The sales rate has slowed; part seasonality and part rates.
- On a national basis, 365K homes are in contact right now, up a fraction vs. last week.
- However, new pending sales this week were 63K vs. 70K last year.
As we enter into seasonality, the trend to look for – how quickly will new pending sales shrink? Will it be more significant than normal seasonality? That is the stat I’ll be watching.
One bright spot – 10,000 Americans turn 65 daily and are typically cash buyers when they downsize or move closer to family.
Look at the stats in your area – click here.
