Over the last several months you may have been noticing a shift in the housing market. What was once a hot, thrilling market for sellers, is now cooling down. This is welcomed news for buyers who have been patiently waiting to dive into homeownership.
Here are a few ways that the current housing market is more buyer friendly than it has been.
1. More Inventory.
More homes are coming on the market daily, which means that supply is up and there are more homes for buyers to choose from. Since there are more homes available on the market, that also means that there is less competition per home. So where before you might have been competing with multiple offers, now you could be the only offer a seller sees.
2. Sales Price.
Over the last few years we have been seeing sales prices soaring. Homes were going for, at times, hundreds of thousands of dollars over listing price in the King County area. With the more supply of homes and demand per home going down, it is keeping home price hikes at bay. Recently we have seen homes going for list price and more sellers are even dropping their prices. Welcomed news for many home buyers who were being priced out of the market.
3. Contingent Offers.
This is something that we have not seen much over the last few years, contingent offers are being accepted again. This means that you no longer have to sell your current home before you can put in an offer on your next home. Offers contingent upon the sale of the buyers home are going under contract again.
4. Inspections Are Back.
This one is very exciting for many home buyers, inspections are back! Over the last few years, when you were competing against multiple offers, you were almost expected to waive the inspection if you wanted your offer to be considered. Now, buyers can again look out for their best interest and require an inspection before jumping into the large investment of purchasing the home.
5. Interest Rates.
This is a point that needs to be addressed. While yes, interest rates are higher than they were during the pandemic, they are still very low historically speaking. The thing to remember about mortgage interest rates are that they are not permanent. You can always refinance when rates are lower.
Now is a great time to be a home buyer, gone are the days that the sellers get to call all of the shots! With more houses to pick from and more friendly terms when you do find the home that you want, it is time to make your dreams of homeownership come true. While interest rates might be slightly higher, remember that you are not paying thousands of dollars over list price for a home like we were seeing previously. If you do the math, you could be saving money over the life of your loan, so don’t let that deter you from buying.