Buyers have been frustrated since last summer (2022) as interest rates have been more than double (if not more) than what they were a few years ago during the pandemic. As a real estate agent, it’s my job to be in the know so I can be a trusted resource for buyers and sellers in the real estate market. This isn’t something I take lightly! It’s extremely important to me that I lean in and stay up to date about what’s actually going on.

That being said, I listened to a podcast this past week by Brian Buffini who is a real estate expert. His business philosophy set the tone for the way I do business (relationship/referral-based).

For those of you who were previously looking for a house but decided to sit on the sidelines for a while waiting for rates to go down, here’s some information that I think you’ll find hopeful:

• interest rates are expected to decrease to about 5.6% by the end of this year

• interest rates are expected to decrease to about 4.8% by the end of 2024

• interest rates are expected to decrease to 4.5% by the end of 2025

Just as a friendly reminder, whenever interest rates go down…prices go up! As a direct result, more buyers will enter the real estate market in order to take advantage of these more desirable rates. At this moment in time, millennials make up the LARGEST POPULATION of future homebuyers. They will soon be entering the market which means we can anticipate these next few years being CRAZY! AGAIN!

What does this mean for a buyer/seller?

We’ll be looking at an even stronger sellers market! We’re already experiencing an inventory shortage (and have been for the past few years now). Take those numbers and then add 4+ million more buyers into the market! Prices are not going to go down. They will continue to go back up! If you’ve been waiting for home prices to go down or for the market to crash…the market isn’t going to crash. It’s not like it was in 2008! Why? Because 30% of homeowners own their house outright and 29% of homeowners have at least 50% equity in their home.

Again, prices are not going down. They are continuing to rise! For example, here in East Texas, the average sales price for June 2023 was $305,000! Before that it was $285,000 and before that it was $265,000! That’s a $40,000 increase in just a few months.

DON’T WAIT! DATE THE RATE!

Get pre-qualified, find your dream home (or at least the home that will work for your specific needs) at the price it’s listed at today, and then refinance in a few years whenever the rates drop! Otherwise, you’ll be looking at paying even more for a home.

For me personally, I would rather buy a home at TODAY’S PRICES and then take advantage of the UPCOMING INTEREST RATES when they drop!

As a millennial AND homeowner, I am looking forward to working with millennial buyers because I know the freedom that comes with being able to own a home. I want nothing more than for other millennial buyers to experience what I get to experience every single day! I rented for a few years and I mean it when I say…there is nothing more satisfying than buying a home and knowing that your money is now going towards EQUITY and something that’s YOURS…not paying SOMEONE ELSE’S MORTGAGE!

Referrals

If you know of anybody who has been holding off on buying a home in hopes of prices going down, I would appreciate you getting them connected with me! Referrals are what make my business go round. I’d love to talk with them about their home buying dreams and get them connected with a local lender they can trust so they can take advantage of the home prices while they still can.

Kristin Koonce Burroughs, REALTOR®
(903)241-2608
kristinkoonce@gmail.com
BOLD Real Estate Group