As always, the real estate market is about trends. Is it a buyer’s market? A seller’s market? More times than not, prospective buyers focus on the current trends of the real estate market when deciding where to purchase their home. This post will focus on the current trends in real estate in 2018 and how it directly affects both buyers and sellers.
Homes Selling Faster This Year
In February of this year, data showed that properties were selling 8% faster than the same time frame last year. For homeowners selling their property, this is great news. Since buyers appear more eager, there’s more room for negotiations during the selling process. For buyers, they’ll be facing huge competition for homes. It’s best for a buyer to have their finances prepared ahead of time, know what they want in a house, and have experience on their side from an agent. As a buyer, having these tools in your metaphorical toolbelt will help you gain the advantage in such a competitive market.
Homes Are Priced Higher
In the tradition of the last few decades, home prices continue to rise. From February 2017 to February of this year, there was a rise in home prices of 10%. This boils down to 1 in 3 houses on the market falling below the $200,000 mark. That price range is where nearly half of all buyers are competing for homes. As a seller, homeowners are set to gain a sizeable profit. For buyers, however, since the market is trending to become more expensive, they will need to figure out exactly how much they can afford to spend on a house. If buyers are unable to put at least 10% down on a 15-year fixed-rate conventional loan, then they most likely cannot afford a house in that market. Some solutions are to keep saving, sacrifice the “wants”, or simply expand the search. This is where an experienced professional agent comes back into play.
Homeowners that are selling stand to gain the most from the current real estate market trends. Both figuratively and literally. Those that are seeking to purchase a home need to tread carefully. In such a competitive market, it will take doing serious research and planning to ensure that the home they end up purchasing is affordable and they aren’t sacrificing everything they’re looking for in a home.