Mortgages and rising interest rates
The U.S. housing market is slowing as buyers struggle with rising borrowing costs and a shortage of properties for sale.
Previously occupied U.S. home sales fell in April for the third consecutive month as mortgage rates shot up, crimping homebuyers’ purchasing power during the annual spring homebuying season.
The average weekly rate for a benchmark 30-year mortgage slipped last week to 5.25% from 5.3% the previous week, which was the highest level since 2009, according to mortgage buyer Freddie Mac. A year ago the average rate was 3%.
Nick Bailey, president and CEO of Re/Max, a global network of independently owned and operated real estate brokerages with about 3,300 locations in the U.S., recently spoke to The Associated Press about the impact higher mortgage rates will have on the market this year, from less competition among home buyers to more muted selling price increases.
What impact is the surge in mortgage rates this year having on the housing market?
The rise in interest rates is going to help buyers not be in as strong a competitive bidding situation as they have in the past. It will stabilize pricing and overall help the market return to a little bit more of an equilibrium, which I think is needed. The market could not continue to go up by double-digit price appreciation year after year after year.
Do you think homeowners with an ultra-low, fixed mortgage rate may be reluctant to sell if it means a higher mortgage rate on a new home?
I don’t necessarily think there’s a correlation that exists between the mortgage rate and the inventory that comes on the market. We sold houses in the ’80s when interest rates were 18%. Even though we’ve had an uptick in interest rates, they’re still overall historically low.
It’s been a sellers’ market many years. Will it tip in favor of buyers soon?
We have a shortage of homes. We have pent-up demand. This is going to be fairly slow to transition to a buyers’ market, but I don’t think we’ll necessarily hit a full buyers’ market because of the shortage and the demand. I think we’ll start to get between two and three months of inventory by the end of the year, with the stabilization of both prices and interest rates. I think that’s what we’re going to see.
What advice would you give first-time buyers in this market?
The absolute key when I have seen first-time homebuyers win is when they’ve got a good agent who knows how to navigate the market, knows how to present a really good, compelling offer to the seller. And they need to realize that they may not get the first, second or third home that they make an offer on. They’re going to have to be willing to possibly sacrifice location, maybe go a little farther than they want.