What Do the Number of Home Showings Say About Our Market?

The trajectory of the number of home showings in our market over the first half of the year is nothing to be alarmed about.

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Over the last couple of weeks, we’ve been noticing a little bit of a stillness in our real estate market. We also noticed this little hiccup wasn’t just happening to our local market—it was happening nationwide.

Industry experts are calling this a “blip on the radar,” and it will be interesting to see if it carries into July. If it happens for two months in a row, we’re experiencing a trend, but for now it’s just a blip on the radar.
 
When looking at the numbers for the first half of this year in the 46143 zip code, I noticed a low number of showings in January, but that number climbed in February and March. For example, in January, for homes priced between $200,000 and $300,000, there were 318 showings. In February, that number rose to 412. In March, it went up to 592. In April, that momentum caused it to climb all the way up to 671. In May, that number plateaued around 670. In June, it dropped to 650.

For now, this stillness is just a blip on the radar.

This is nothing to be alarmed about, but like I said above, this decline was something the whole market felt from coast to coast. In any case, we will stay on top of this development. At Shawna’s Home Team, our average days on market is still just 22 days, and our homes are selling for 98.6% of our asking price.

If you have any questions or you’re thinking about buying or selling a home in our market, don’t hesitate to reach out to us by phone or email. We’d be glad to help you.
 

How Do Rising Interest Rates Affect Buyers?

If you’re looking to buy a home, you’ll want to jump on the market before interest rates increase again. Here’s why. 

 Selling your home? Get a free home valuation.

Buying a home? Search the complete MLS.

How do changing interest rates affect you as a buyer? I’ll go over the answer to that and give you a quick market recap today.

For December, overall sales were up 4.2% from November, and as we ended 2016, the fourth quarter ended 10.2% higher than the third quarter. That was interesting to see, as the fourth quarter is usually not as strong for sales.

Now, let’s talk about how changes in interest rates are affecting buying power. Right now, interest rates are at about 4%, but that may not be your specific interest rate. The interest rate you get depends on your credit score, your income, and your debt ratio.

Now is the time to buy your dream home.

However, let’s say your interest rate was 4% and your lender had approved you for a loan of $250,000. For every 0.5% increase in your interest rate, your buying power is reduced by 10%. So, if your rate went up to 4.5% and you lost 10% of your buying power, you’d now only be approved for a $225,000 loan.

That is a significant difference. As a buyer you really need to grasp how substantially that affects your buying power. If your goal is to buy your dream home, I promise you the time is now. Every time interest rates go up, your buying power goes down. Now really is the time to take action and I am here to help!

If you have any other questions, please feel free to give me a call or send me a text. I look forward to hearing from you!