REAL ESTATE MONTHLY OVERVIEW: APRIL

You never quite know what spring will bring, like snowing in Cincinnati on April Fool’s Day. SURPRISE! On the same note, consumers and real estate agents alike are wondering what rates are going to do in upcoming months. While some real estate finance experts predict that mortgage interest rates are going to skyrocket, other real estate economists say they will remain steady or even take a slight dip. Though interest rates as low as 2 percent may be a thing of the past, low mortgage interest rates have kept the real estate industry thriving throughout the last year of challenging times. Record job cuts, lay-offs, businesses filing bankruptcy, and millions filing for unemployment made for a very frightening year in 2020. Yet interest rates remained at record lows, pushing demand to record highs. The “WFA” (work from anywhere) generation was born and set out on a quest for the perfect house amid a global pandemic. Now we’re in the 2^nd quarter of 2021 and curious as to what the future of mortgage interest rates holds for us. Let’s look into some varying views so we can form our own opinion on this highly contested topic.

RATES

Just one week ago, the average mortgage interest rate fell from 3.32% down to 3.21%. Just to add insult to injury for all the real estate economists predicting a rate hike, this pattern of decline went on for 3 consecutive weeks. As they waited for the other shoe to drop, rates continued to inch lower. Was this some kind of anomaly? The root behind this deviation from the expert predictions? No one could shed light on this, but it certainly kept buyers coming out in droves a midst scarce inventory across the nation. In fact, home buyer demand rose by 60% in the first quarter of this year.

VALUES

April hasn’t missed a beat from March where home values grew 17% from last year. The median list price nationwide last month was a staggering $375,ooo. At the culprit of these exorbitant figures is the fact that our country’s supply is nearly four million homes less than it should be to meet demand. Larger cities had an increase of 17.2% in value per statistics gathered by realtor.com. As Covid restrictions are lessened across the country, the demand seems to be on a steady trajectory.

TOP BROKERS

The top brokers in the nation had a staggering $1.7 trillion in sales per Realtor magazine. Of these real estate industry giants, the top three were

Realogy
HomeServices of America, Inc.
EXp

An interesting side note in those figures was that Compass, known to be a disruptor in the industry, was not on RIS Media’s list of Power Brokers because refuses to sperate commercial sales from residential.

All things considered, this is one of the most dynamic real estate markets we have seen in the last 40 years. If you are in a position to purchase a home this year, be prepared to strategically submit your offer with powerful allies. You will need a lender who is well versed in this economic impact and a licensed real estate professional who is in the trenches of this profound market. You can not risk such a significant investment with lenders and agents who are ill equipped to handle transactions in this climate. In today’s real estate market, if you’re not first you’re last. Stay up to date on current market conditions to make an informed decision on what may be one of the most substantial purchases in your life.

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