Buying and Selling in Times of Uncertainty
Happy almost Spring! At any given point in time, clients ask me whether it’s the right time to buy or sell. But lately there’s a greater sense of urgency in their question. We’ve talked a lot about supply and demand contributing to rapidly escalating home values in our area. Last month the MEDIAN home price on the East side was up 34% year over year landing at almost 1.7Million, a trend that has persisted for some time now. In our Spring market coupled with rising interest rates, even more buyers are trying to secure a home.
Now add inflation and the war in Ukraine and all the uncertainty that comes with that. But even while demand in our area remains strong and continues to outpace supply, I’m starting to see a shift. With slightly more inventory, buyers have more choices. One client toured four homes this weekend all of which had offer reviews on the same day as a result my clients were able to win a home for less than their max escalation price!
Generally speaking, it’s better to own then rent - to pay a mortgage on a home you own and build equity in your portfolio vs your landlord’s. Even if initially you pay a premium, as most buyers in this market are having to do, real estate has a proven track record of increasing in value over. Here is the trendline for median home prices on the east side that bears this out. We did see that when rates got higher in 2019, the market slowed but we’ve since moved way past that. Other things I’m noticing now are a decrease in the total number of offers, as some buyers have reached their affordability ceiling.
I've seen a couple of homes not get an offer on their review date, or others come back on market, or some that priced too aggressively out of the gate and had to reduce their price or took longer to sell. So there's definitely a shift. But that does not answer the question of whether now is a good time to buy or sell. In times of such uncertainty, some feel that having a tangible asset such as real estate is beneficial.
𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐞'𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠: 𝐫𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐡𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐞𝐬, 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐦𝐲, 𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐆𝐞𝐨 𝐩𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐞, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐮𝐲 𝐨𝐫 𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐬.
As your trusted advisor, it's my job to help you make an informed decision with clarity and confidence, so please reach out to discuss your specific situation and how I might be able to help.
Call/text or email me anytime! ginam@windermere.com.
