Don't Call It A Comeback

Despite the holiday rush, the real estate market trudges on. Homes are listed, would-be buyers peruse open houses, offers are made, and deals are closed. But it leaves some to wonder how this generally crazy season affects the home buying and selling process. We’re here to give a little insight into the current market for the last week of 2022. 

Our friends at Realtor.com share a weekly roundup of numbers and provide feedback from industry experts. Some are calling this week’s numbers a “fantastic opportunity,” while others might view this as just the best of a not-so-great situation. 

What Do We Mean? 

Look at it this way… for the first time in a year, home prices DIDN’T grow at a double-digit pace. They’re still creeping up and up, but this week only grew at 9.5%, down from 10.3% the week before. Granted, this is significantly lower than the 18% year-over-year growth seen earlier in 2022 but it still puts the median list prices for home higher than average. So… yay? 

Another seemingly beneficial movement is this week’s dip in mortgage interest rates. We saw a generational high of 7.08% in late October which resulted in some house hunters giving up their search entirely as they were consequently priced out of the market. Current rates for the week ending Dec. 15 are 6.31%. This represents a nearly three-quarters of a point reduction in interest rates which means hundreds of dollars of savings per month in a mortgage payment. 

But again, just because we’re down from the highest doesn’t mean we’re enjoying the lows seen by everyone during the crazy market of the Covid pandemic. Perhaps we all got a bit spoiled because even though experts are excited by this week’s numbers, the general public might still feel a bit stiffed.