STATE OF HOUSING MARKET

As we are moving into the second half of the year, let’s take a look at how the housing market has fared so far. 

The good news is that despite many gloomy forecasts from early January, residential real estate markets have returned toward more typical seasonal trends as buyer demand has improved. While challenges still remain for today's buyers and would-be sellers, there's both hope and growth in the data. 

As we go through the latest numbers, current data is showing the housing market is normalizing after two unprecedented years we call the “Unicorn Years”. We are seeing that in the stabilization of home prices and demand. But on the flip side, we are still seeing a strain on supply. This is causing sellers who may want to downsize or move up to stay put-due to the tight supply of finding replacement homes and higher mortgage rates. 

This low inventory is creating more of a demand for buyers who have returned to the market after six to seven months of being on the fence about buying. According to Freddie Mac, 18% of Americans said they are likely to buy a home in the next six months. At the same time, 16% of homeowners surveyed said they were planning to sell in the next six months. These are solid indicators of the market returning to a more typical seasonal trend and active market, post-pandemic. 

And when we look across the country geographically to see where those active listings are growing, we can see it's pretty widespread. As of June, we saw an improvement in active listings compared to last year in the South, the Midwest, and the West regions. The northeast was the one region that showed a decline compared to last year. 

As always, if you are planning on buying or selling, it is important to reach out to your local real estate expert to give you the most up-to-date numbers, and important, timely information, for your area. If you would like more information on the current housing data and find out what is happening locally in your area, give us a jingle. My team and I can help you strategize the sale of your home to get the best return on your investment.