{"id":1529,"date":"2023-01-29T12:13:27","date_gmt":"2023-01-29T12:13:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/billingsrealtybrokers.paradiseinnovations.com\/index.php\/2023\/01\/29\/mortgage-rates-just-hit-a-4-month-low-but-do-homebuyers-even-notice-or-care\/"},"modified":"2023-01-29T12:13:27","modified_gmt":"2023-01-29T12:13:27","slug":"mortgage-rates-just-hit-a-4-month-low-but-do-homebuyers-even-notice-or-care","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/billingsrealtybrokers.paradiseinnovations.com\/index.php\/2023\/01\/29\/mortgage-rates-just-hit-a-4-month-low-but-do-homebuyers-even-notice-or-care\/","title":{"rendered":"Mortgage Rates Just Hit a 4-Month Low, but Do Homebuyers Even Notice\u2014or Care?"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Getty Images<\/p>\n

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Mortgage rates are down again this week, which means things are looking up for homebuyers.<\/p>\n

The average rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage ticked down 2 basis points to 6.13%, according to Freddie Mac<\/a>, continuing a pattern of rates seesawing lower since topping 7% in the fall<\/a>. In fact, mortgage rates are at their lowest levels since mid-September 2022.<\/p>\n

Yet, while lower borrowing costs are a boon for homebuyers, few seem to be pouncing on this opportunity as they might have a year or two earlier.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs we move into the new year, housing market data continues to suggest that buyers are relatively sluggish as the total number of homes for sale climbs higher and homes spend more days on market,\u201d noted Realtor.com\u00ae Chief Economist Danielle Hale<\/strong> in her analysis<\/a> for the week ending Jan. 21. \u201cAfter unprecedented urgency to find and close on a home in 2021 and 2022, buyers in today\u2019s housing market are clearly operating under a different set of expectations and a much greater measure of patience.\u201d<\/p>\n

We\u2019ll look at why homebuyers aren\u2019t moving on this mortgage rate reprieve with more gusto\u2014and what it might mean for homebuying this year\u2014in this installment of \u201cHow\u2019s the Housing Market This Week?<\/a>\u201d<\/p>\n\n

Why mortgage rates are falling<\/h2>\n

The further mortgage rates dip, the less of a fluke these lower rates appear to be. And for this, we can thank easing inflation.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is the first time after nearly two years that the inflation rate is finally lower than it was the previous year,\u201d explains Nadia Evangelou<\/strong>, senior economist and director of real estate research at the National Association of Realtors\u00ae.<\/p>\n

As a result, she predicts, \u201cMortgage rates may fall even further in the following weeks as investors expect the Federal Reserve to take a smaller rate hike in February.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lower inflation rates might spell good news not just for mortgage rates, but also for home prices (more on that next).<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

Watch: 6 Crucial Tips for Bringing Down Your Mortgage Rate<\/strong><\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

An era of more \u2018normal\u2019 price gains?<\/h2>\n

For the week ending Jan. 21, listing prices were 7.3% higher than this same week last year. While still up, this would be considered a more \u201cnormal\u201d price gain than the frothiness of the COVID-19 pandemic period, when prices were expanding week after week by double digits.<\/p>\n

In fact, December 2022, with its median listing price of $400,000, marked a noteworthy milestone: It\u2019s the first month in a year when year-over-year prices were higher by only single digits.<\/p>\n\n

Homes are taking longer to sell<\/h2>\n

While today\u2019s slower price gains is good news for homebuyers, so far, they aren\u2019t feeling all that inspired to snap up the goods.<\/p>\n

For the week ending Jan. 21, homes lingered on the market 14 days longer than this same time last year, marking six full months of properties taking longer to sell than a year earlier.<\/p>\n

This calmer tempo of market activity is a relief to house hunters, who now have more time to make decisions without the pressure to beat out competitors amid the bidding wars that dominated a year back. This is especially true for first-timers, Hale notes, who \u201care navigating what can be a daunting process even for experienced shoppers.\u201d<\/p>\n

On the flip side, Hale adds, \u201chomeowners looking to sell in 2023 will want to be mindful of the slower market pace to set their expectations accordingly.\u201d<\/p>\n

Your home might not sell in the first hour it hits the market, in other words\u2014and that\u2019s OK.<\/p>\n\n

Home sellers are being cautious<\/h2>\n

As for prospective home sellers who might be thinking about listing their homes? They, too, seem to be biding their time.<\/p>\n

For the week ending Jan. 21, 5% fewer homes were listed for sale than the same week a year earlier, marking the 29th straight week of declines. That said, homebuyers have plenty to shop for with active listings up 69%.<\/p>\n

By February, Hale thinks, more owners might be inclined to sell their homes, which would be a welcome development for the market.<\/p>\n

As for what to expect, Evangelou thinks this spring\u2019s homebuying season will perk up, although not quite as much as the past couple of years when mortgage rates hit record lows right while people itching to move hit pandemic highs.<\/p>\n

\u201cGenerally, home sales activity increases by 33% in March compared to February,\u201d says Evangelou. \u201cHowever, in the last couple of years, activity was even busier due to low mortgage rates. Even though rates were rising last March, many buyers were rushing to benefit from the 4% rates during that time.\u201d<\/p>\n

This March will be different.<\/p>\n

\u201cGiven low affordability and inventory, activity may not ramp up so fast in the spring season this year, but it will definitely be busier than it currently is,\u201d Evangelou says. \u201cMeanwhile, a stronger housing market could help the U.S. economy to skirt a recession.\u201d<\/p>\n

In other words, a strong economy and a strong housing market appear to go hand in hand, and could very well be on the horizon.<\/p>\n

The post Mortgage Rates Just Hit a 4-Month Low, but Do Homebuyers Even Notice\u2014or Care?<\/a> appeared first on Real Estate News & Insights | realtor.com\u00ae<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Getty Images Mortgage rates are down again this week, which means things are looking up for homebuyers. The average rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage ticked down 2 basis points to 6.13%, according to Freddie Mac, continuing a pattern of rates seesawing lower since topping 7% in the fall. In fact, mortgage rates are at…Read More→<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":1530,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1529","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/billingsrealtybrokers.paradiseinnovations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1529","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/billingsrealtybrokers.paradiseinnovations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/billingsrealtybrokers.paradiseinnovations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/billingsrealtybrokers.paradiseinnovations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1529"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/billingsrealtybrokers.paradiseinnovations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1529\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/billingsrealtybrokers.paradiseinnovations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1530"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/billingsrealtybrokers.paradiseinnovations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1529"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/billingsrealtybrokers.paradiseinnovations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1529"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/billingsrealtybrokers.paradiseinnovations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1529"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}