Is Now the Time to Buy Your New Home?

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The housing trends for Summer 2023 aren’t showing the price softening that many forecasters hoped for. It appears that existing home sales are softer, but prices aren’t falling as expected. As more business watchers hold out hope for softening in the housing market, it appears that they’ll have to continue waiting. For many people, whether it’s an ideal time to buy into the market is irrelevant, as they need to purchase a new home. Let’s take a closer look at why this summer might not be optimal for a new home purchase.

Steady Interest Rates

Interest rates continue to hover around 6.9%, which is keeping many potential homebuyers on the sidelines. Typically, as rates rise, prices fall, but that hasn’t been the case in recent months. Market watchers continue to observe the effect these higher rates are having on the overall real estate market. As rates hold constant, fewer people are jumping into the pool, which should eventually cause prices to drop as inventory starts to increase. Higher down payments are one way to keep monthly mortgage payments at reasonable levels, but is it enough? Most people who can, are waiting until either rates or prices come down.

A Beneficial Time for Cash Buyers?

When rates are higher and prices begin to fall, it’s usually an ideal time for cash buyers to make a move. Unfortunately, this usual scenario isn’t proving to be the case at this time. Cash buyers have an advantage when it’s difficult or expensive to get financing. However, when prices don’t come down, there’s less incentive for a cash purchase. Buyers can take heart in knowing that this may be a new reality, and there won’t be much downward movement in the near term. Now might be the best time to buy a home, as counterintuitive as that may seem.

Making the Best of the Situation

Folks that are starting families, looking to retire, or have to relocate won’t often have the choice of whether to wait to purchase a home. New families need a place to live, and retirees may have to downsize their homes as a major part of their retirement plans. Now can be a good time to negotiate a better price, as there’s not the fervent competition that was prevalent in the past few years. If you’re going to buy a home in the near future, you’ll have time to review the options carefully and it’s unlikely that you’ll need to get involved in a bidding war.

Potential homeowners can put together an excellent team including their hands-on realtor, title attorney, and financial partner. Even though rates are high, having the time available to research a variety of financing options to consider can make it easier to find a housing situation that checks all the boxes. Buying a home in an environment may not be an ideal move for many people, but there are ways to manage the situation to one’s benefit. Having the time to consider the appropriateness of each home without having to worry about losing it to a higher bidder does have many advantages.

Buyers are also able to take the time needed to secure financing that makes sense for them now and in the future. Many recent home buyers stated that they didn’t want to miss out on a dream home, and hope to refinance if and when interest rates finally fall.

If it’s time for you to buy your next home, hiring a title attorney is an effective way to ensure that everything goes smoothly. Give us a call today!