How Will Rising Interest Rates Affect Our Housing Market?

Although interest rates are rising, there is no evidence that housing prices will slow down in the near future.

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Selling in Southeast Michigan? Get a free Home Price Evaluation

As you might be aware by now, mortgage rates are increasing in 2017 compared to 2016. Many of our clients have been asking us how these increases will affect the real estate market, so today I’m going to answer that question for you.

Most experts forecast prices to appreciate in the 4.5% to 5% range throughout this year. However, this increase isn’t expected to slow the housing market down. Here’s what FHFA Deputy Chief Economist Andrew Leventis has to say about it:

“Although interest rates rose sharply during the fourth quarter, our data shows no signs of a home price slowdown. Although it will certainly take more time for the full effects for the elevated interest rates to be felt, there is no evidence of a normalization in the unusually low inventories of homes available for sale, which has been the primary force behind the extraordinary price gains.”

In other words, there is no evidence that rising interest rates are slowing down pricing. What’s currently determining pricing is supply and demand.

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Rising interest rates aren’t expected to slow our housing market down.

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Fannie Mae, the National Association of Realtors, and the Mortgage Bankers Association all project another 0.5% increase in mortgage rates from now until the first quarter of 2018, which would put the average at 4.63%. From a historical perspective, those are still incredibly attractive mortgage rates.

According to a recent survey by Pulsenomics in which they asked experts what level they thought the 30-year fixed rate mortgage rate would have to rise to slow home value appreciation, most of them answered 5% and above. We probably won’t hit that mark until the fourth quarter of 2018.

In the meantime, prices and interest rates will both continue to rise. Whether you’re a buyer or a seller looking to move up to a bigger home, I would suggest taking action now. 

If you have any questions or you’re thinking about making a move in our market, please give us a call or shoot us an email. We’d be glad to help you.

Get a Free Market Report With Our Market Snapshot Tool

If you need a thorough local market report, our Market Snapshot tool can provide you one in no time at all. Here’s how.

Buying in Southeast Michigan? Perform a full home search

Selling in Southeast Michigan? Get a free Home Price Evaluation

Today I want to tell you about a great online tool we offer all our clients called the Market Snapshot. You can check out the Market Snapshot tool here. Using it is easy, and it provides you with a quick and comprehensive report of your local market conditions.

To use it, all you have to do is fill in some of your information (phone number, email address, etc.) and declare whether you’re a buyer or seller. Most of our clients who are looking to sell their homes use this to get a sense of what’s selling in their current neighborhood. If that’s the case for you, your next step will be to fill in your home’s details and then click the ‘get free report’ button.

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This tool gives you a great sense of what’s happening in your area.

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You’ll then receive an email notification shortly afterward. This email provides you the link to your report. In that report, you can see the average asking price in your neighborhood, the average list-to-sale price, the average days on market, and the level of inventory. Below those statistics, you can browse other comparable properties that have sold in your area.

Another cool feature this report has is an overhead, satellite-image map that lets you see the locations of new listings, current inventory, sold properties, properties under contract, and expired listings. For your convenience, each category is color-coded. The map also lets you zoom in and out, and you can click on any of the colored properties for more details.

If you have any questions or are interested in getting a local market report and need assistance utilizing this tool, feel free to give me a shout. I’d be happy to help!