Today’s Homebuyers Have All Heard the Bad News. Now, Here’s the Good

Abstract

According to Freddie Mac, for the week ending Sept. 22, the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate increased to 6.29%, up from the previous week's 6.02%, which was already the highest level seen since 2008. Prices are still rising-by 13.1% for the week ending Sept. 17 compared with this same week last year. While that's the 40th straight week of double-digit growth year over year, "The general trend for home price growth is cooler, with the rate notably lower than what we saw between March and August," says Xu. Plus, home prices tend to dip seasonally as we glide toward the holidays. "Home prices typically decline as we move into the second half of the year, one of the key seasonal trends that help make fall the best time to buy a home, particularly for first-time buyers," says Xu. In fact, this year's data suggests that the very best week to buy is Sept 25-Oct. 1-that's when national median list prices are slated to drop $20,000 lower than June's all-time high of $450,000. Will home sellers still be willing to list? Another question right now is whether home sellers are willing to lower their expectations-and prices-to meet poor homebuyers halfway. "Although the number of newly listed options was smaller last week, today's shoppers have more than five homes to consider for every four they had at this time a year ago," says Xu. "Shoppers have more options than they've had in a long time. On top of this, we're approaching fall, which is typically the annual seasonal high mark for active inventory." Watch: 4 Bright New Realities of Buying a Home Today How much time do homebuyers have? While homebuyers typically have just 34 days to make an offer before a listing gets snapped up, the mad rush to buy is slowing down. That's the eighth straight week of homes lingering longer than last year.