“The way I see it, if you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain!” – Dolly Parton
Even with all the rain, there’s some sunny news for the housing market. According to the most recent home purchase sentiment index from Fannie Mae: “Consumer sentiment toward housing reached its highest level since March 2022, fueled by increased confidence in job security and a higher share of people who expect mortgage rates to decrease.”
We’re feeling that optimism in activity as things start to gear up for the spring market. The number of new listings doubled in January compared to December, which is a typical seasonal pattern after the holidays but was still down about a third from January 2023. There is a lot of buyer demand for homes, but it’s likely the weather has been affecting the inventory levels, as many sellers and listing agents are reluctant to bring properties on during stormy periods. We often see a surge in new listings after the Super Bowl and President’s Day/Ski Week, but with more rain in the forecast, we shall see if that happens, or if the new inventory stays suppressed until we get a nice stretch of sunny weather.
Mortgage rates are still down from their peak at the end of October, but have ticked up a bit with the recent strong economic news. We hope to see rates drop more this year but that will depend on how the economy behaves, so we will be watching the inflation numbers and job reports, and how the Fed responds.
Don’t wait until everyone else jumps into the market to dip your toe in—start planning now. If you’d like to weigh your options, get a more personalized market analysis for your home, or plan a home search strategy, let’s talk.
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