January 20th 2024

If you’ve been holding off on selling your house to make a move because you felt mortgage rates were too high, their recent downward trend is exciting news for you. Mortgage rates have descended since last October when they hit 7.79%. In fact, they’ve been below 7% for over a month now (see graph below):

And while they’re not going back to the 3% we saw during the ‘unicorn’ years, they are expected to continue to go down from where they are now in the near future. As Dean Baker, Senior Economist at the Center for Economic Research, explains:

“It also appears that mortgage rates are now falling again. They will almost certainly not fall to pandemic lows, although we may soon see rates under 6.0 percent, which would be low by pre-Great Recession standards.”

Here are two reasons why this recent trend, and the expectation it’ll continue, is such good news for you.

You May Not Feel as Locked-In to Your Current Mortgage Rate

With mortgage rates already significantly lower than they were just a few months ago, you may feel less locked-in to the current mortgage rate you have on your house. When mortgage rates were higher, moving to a new home meant possibly trading in a low rate for one up near 8%.

However, with rates dropping, the difference between your current mortgage rate and the new rate you’d be taking on isn’t as big as it was. That makes moving more affordable than it was just a few months ago. As Lance Lambert, Founder of ResiClub, explains:

“We might be at peak “lock-in effect.” Some move-up or lifestyle sellers might be coming to terms with the fact 3% and 4% mortgage rates aren’t returning anytime soon.”

More Buyers Will Be Coming to the Market

According to data from Bright MLS, the top reason buyers have been waiting to take the plunge into homeownership is high mortgage rates (see graph below):

As many predicted, U.S. mortgage applications surged as rates fell across the board in the last week, proving out the graph above.  

The market index rose 10.4% to 210.5 for the week ending January 12 from a week ago. A year ago, the index stood at 239.2.

Key details: The purchase index—which measures mortgage applications for the purchase of a home—rose 9.2% from a week ago.

A drop in rates boosted home-buying and refinancing demand. The overall market composite index—a measure of mortgage application volume—increased in the last week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) said on Wednesday.

The big picture: The housing market is warming up as rates fall. Lower rates will not only bring buyers back to the table, they’ll also make it attract homeowners with low interest rates who otherwise would be unwilling to sell.

What the MBA said: “Although purchase activity is lagging year-ago levels, refinance applications have improved from their recent low point and have been showing year-over-year gains, albeit at low levels,” Joel Kan, vice president and deputy chief economist at the MBA, said in a statement.

“If rates continue to ease, MBA is cautiously optimistic that home purchases will pick up in the coming months,” he added.

Bottom line?  Buyers and sellers will likely face even more competition in the spring. This is always the case, but the effect will be significantly greater with the recent decrease in interest rates.  For those that are able, chooising to buy or sell now, in winter, could be the best option.  Put my 26 years experience to work for you today, reach out to buy or sell in Cape May County!