Mark’s Market Update – 2/8/2024
I only enjoyed ONE real Spring Break during my college years. A couple of my high-school best friends and I flew to Florida and went to Daytona Beach…
…while fun and a cool experience, I spent some money I didn’t need to spend because I waited until the last minute to buy plane tickets and get a room reservation.
Why is this important?
Well – Spring Break is traditionally the line in the sand that defines “Winter” versus “Spring/Summer” when people are looking at buying homes. Don’t let Spring Break become that time that “everything becomes more expensive” because you waited.
We have a series of things that are going to make that problematic if people wait:
1. Rates are lower. Generally, rates are about .5% lower coming into this year than they averaged last year. Those who wanted to wait until rates dropped – have gotten their wish (at least part of it).
2. We’re past the holidays. Most people don’t want to buy during the holidays – it’s hard. Lack of inventory – they’ve got their own things going on. They want to wait until the stress of the holidays is past.
3. We’re entering the spring-buying season.
If that isn’t enough – then let’s add an expected Fed move to drop short-term interest rates by .25%. If that happens in March or April – it’s going to be game on – and the floodgates are going open.
FNMA’s homebuyer sentiment survey came out – and 83% of prospective homebuyers think now is not the right time to buy because rates are too high.
So – if people follow the herd – when rates drop – everyone will flood the market because of the lower rates, and the time of year – and home prices can only go up as a result.
Be a contrarian.
Don’t wait until the last minute.