A typical housing market follows seasonal trends. It usually hits its peak in the fall and begins to cool down from there.
As you know, today’s housing market is anything but normal, and buyers are feeling frustrated. A recent survey from Fannie Mae shows that the amount of people who believe it’s a bad time to buy is 66%.
Things could get better for buyers this fall, so don’t give up just yet. Here are recent improvements we’ve been tracking in the housing market.
Listings Are Increasing
If a lack of options has caused you to give up your search for a home, you want to take another look. Data from realtor.com shows t consistent increases in active monthly listings since this spring.
Homebuyers have more options now than at any point in 2021.
Although the increase in listings has slowed down the past couple of months, the numbers are still rising giving buyers more and more choices.
Bidding Wars Are Declining
If the fast-paced competitive nature of the housing market has been wearing on you, that’s starting to ease up.
When multiple offers are made on a home it can result in a bidding war. Buyers will compete against each other and drive the home price up.
Redfin reports that we’re at the lowest level of bidding wars since 2020. We hit a peak in April 2021, where an astonishing 74.3% of homes had multiple offers. More recently in August 2021, that number is down to 58.8%.
Less competition means a better chance at getting a good deal without the hassle.
Home Price Appreciation is Slowing
Very tight supply and strong demand have led to rapid home price appreciation this year. This data from realtor.com shows the slightly slowing pace of price appreciation.
High demand from a millennial population entering homebuying age in large numbers and more remote work opportunities will continue to drive demand. It’s nice to see that prices aren’t increasing as quickly, but don’t expect appreciation to stop.
Bottom Line
We are seeing slight improvements to the housing market in recent months, but it remains far from normal. Danielle Hale, Chief Economist at realtor.com, explains it best,
“Put simply, this September buyers had more options than they’ve had all year and while that’s typical of early fall, that’s not what happened in 2020. Still, it’s important to remember that while buyers may have an easier time this fall than they did in the spring, the market remains more competitive than it has been historically at this time of year.”
If you want to compete in today’s market, ask one of our mortgage advisors about our Bulletproof Buyer Program. It’s a 4-step process that will place you above the competition. Start your consultation by filling out the form below.