Due to the rapid appreciation of real estate and a higher interest rate climate these days, everyone has an opinion about the real estate market- some good and some bad. The market is different today, but not in the ways most people think. Here are some questions our agents have been receiving along with our response.
Last year, the housing market slowed down in response to higher mortgage rates, and that had an impact on home prices. If you’re thinking of selling your house soon, that means you’ll want to adjust your expectations accordingly. As realtor.com explains:
Why Foreclosures Won’t Crush the Housing Market Next Year With the strength of the current housing market growing every day and more Americans returning to work, a faster-than-expected recovery in the housing sector is already well underway. Regardless, many are still asking the question: will we see a wave of foreclosures as a result of the current crisis? Thankfully, research shows … Read More
Mortgage Rates Hit Record Lows for Three Consecutive Weeks Over the past several weeks, Freddie Mac has reported the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate dropping to record lows, all the way down to 3.03%. Last week’s reported rate reached the lowest point in the history of the survey, which dates back to 1971 (See graph below): What does this … Read More
This area of the market has performed very well as I noted above. May and June were ahead of 2019 by 30% in pending home sales, and overall values appreciated by an average of 4% from 2019. Most of this gain was seen in homes under $600,000. In some cases, properties over $700,000 have seen a small drop in listing price, but those reduced prices are still in line with values from 2019. We have seen a pent-up demand drive a lot of this activity. Home buyers came out of the gates strong in May and so far the activity remains strong.
The pandemic has caused consumers to re-examine the components that make up the “perfect home.” Many families are no longer comfortable with the locations and layouts of their existing homes. The allure of city life (more congested) seems to be giving way to either suburban or rural life (less congested). The fascination with an open … Read More
The Shocking News in the Unemployment Report Last Friday, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released their May Employment Situation Summary. Leading up to the release, most experts predicted the unemployment rate would jump up to approximately 20% from the 14.7% rate announced last month. The experts were shocked. The Wall Street Journal put it this way: “The May U.S. jobless rate … Read More
| ALL EYES ARE ON THE AMERICAN ECONOMY. AS IT GOES, SO DOES THE WORLD ECONOMY. WITH STATES BEGINNING TO REOPEN, THE QUESTION BECOMES: WHICH SECTORS OF THE ECONOMY WILL DRIVE ITS RECOVERY? THERE SEEMS TO BE A GROWING CONSENSUS THAT THE HOUSING MARKET IS POSITIONED TO BE THAT DRIVING FORCE, THE TAILWIND THAT IS … Read More
Thankfully, it is not raining today in Athens. I truly believe that the rainy weather has slowed the spring market here in town. In recent years, the real estate market would usually heat up in January, but this year I feel like we were a little late getting underway. I know a lot of realtors … Read More
The first month of 2020 is behind us and at this point the real estate market looks very similar to last January. The amount of sold homes in Clarke and Oconee county is almost even when compared to January of 2019. We feel the true numbers are above Jan 2019, because we have seen more and more properties sell off market, and these off market sales don’t always make it into the MLS
