The Advantages of Buying a Home in the Current Housing Market

Estimated reading time: 3 minutes

Don’t put your house hunting on hold for the Spring market! If your finances are prepared for mortgage costs and monthly payments, you may be able to snag your dream home before the cold weather thaws and buyers flood the market.

Why You Shouldn’t Wait for Prices and Rates to Drop

In recent years, existing homeowners have been reluctant to sell their homes. During the COVID-19 housing boom, Time Magazine reported that the lowest 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rate was 2.65%. With current National rates reaching above 7% as of publication, it’s understandable that some owners want to hang on to their significantly lower rates. However, waiting could cost you more money and stress than originally anticipated.

Buy Now, Refinance Later

A common Real Estate saying advises borrowers to “marry the house and date the rate,” but what does that mean?

Simply put, there is no guarantee that mortgage rates or home prices will fall any further in 2024. In fact, Bankrate, Zillow, and Goldman Sachs expect home prices to rise at least 2% in the coming year. While interest rates may not be ideal, you don’t want to miss out on nabbing your dream home with a monthly payment that works for you.

What comes up, must come down. When rates start to fall, you can refinance the home you already love to receive a better interest rate with more favorable terms.

Avoid Overly Competitive Bidding Wars

Let’s say you wait for interest rates to fall before you start house hunting. You would be entering the housing market with those who have been waiting on the sidelines during the busy Spring market. However, the national housing inventory has yet to catch up to buyer demand. Although bidding wars are still common, they will only increase with more favorable interest rates and minimal inventory, causing housing prices to rise and homes to quickly leave the market.

Stop Building Your Landlord’s Equity

Renting a property means your monthly payments go toward your landlord’s mortgage and builds their wealth. Why pay for someone else’s investment when you could make your own investment?

Your down payment and monthly mortgage payments have two important benefits: paying down your loan’s principal amount and building your home equity. But your local market numbers will also affect your equity.

In fact, homeowners have been sitting on a national average of $250,000 of equity, according to CoreLogic research. When local listing prices rise, the value of the other properties in the area will also rise to match.

Your Market Advantage

If your finances and credit are ready, why wait? When you work with a Licensed Loan Originator from Homestead Funding, you’re setting yourself up for a unique market advantage. Along with our Loan Originator’s local market knowledge, our diverse loan programs and pre-approval are designed to give you an edge over today’s challenges. Whether you’re using Lock & Shop to secure your interest rate before you house hunt or Power Buyer to make a cash offer, we’re here for you every step of the way. Contact us to get started!