Some people in and around Worcester may be wondering if now is the right time to get into the housing market. They may not know if current residential real estate prices are reasonable or if there is any chance that interest rates will dip lower. With much uncertainty surrounding the sale and purchase of real estate, consumers may be looking for some guidance as to what the near future holds.
A national real estate company has offered several housing market trends that it predicts will continue through the middle of 2013. First, it is expected that mortgage rates will stay low but will gradually rise over the next 18 months. The company anticipates that the Federal Reserve will keep such rates low in order to encourage continued growth of the housing market.
Second, it is predicted that the number of homes offered for sale will continue to be on the low end of the expected spectrum. Though rising prices may cause more sellers to offer their properties to the market, the inventory of homes for sale will likely stay low. Also in conjunction with low inventory, it is anticipated that buyers will be more creative in their attempts to influence sellers into entering real estate agreements with them. Many buyers now send personal letters to the sellers of homes they desire to purchase, and this trend is expected to continue through the season.
Finally, buyers should expect that the low inventory on homes for sale will cause properties to receive multiple bids. Buyers who are motivated to purchase particular homes may find themselves making progressively higher offers in order to remain the highest bidders on desirable properties.
Though it is impossible to predict with absolute certainty what will happen in the residential real estate market, buyers and sellers may look to current trends as indicators of what will happen in the market in the near future. As more homes become available for purchase and more buyers begin making offers on available properties, market trends may steadily change, though the market’s low supply suggests that little immediate change will occur.
Source: Forbes, “Four Real Estate Trends For Summer 2013,” May 31, 2013