Higher mortgage rates have knocked some buyers out of today’s housing market. Those same rates are keeping some people in their houses longer than they might have chosen to stay. Most property owners that have a mortgage on their home, have interest rates hovering in the 3% or lower range. Making a move up or even downsizing means trading that very attractive mortgage rate for one that is more than double. This fact is keeping owners in their homes and keeping those homes off the market.

The result is a very palpable reduction in the number of homes being offered for sale or LOW INVENTORY. This term is being used by every media source out there to characterize today’s housing market.

Even though there are fewer buyers, there are still buyers on virtually every level of the housing market and they have accepted the higher rates as a fact of life. There are still bidding wars happening since so few houses are being offered for sale. It is particularly difficult for first time buyers.

How can we see the effect in our market?
Here is a snapshot of several local markets, using data through September 30.

The low inventory has caused the volume of transactions to tumble significantly this year from the same time last year as shown on the table above. Prices are mostly holding steady but some markets are showing gains over the previous year.  For the foreseeable future, we will have a solid sellers’ market. The game changer will be if inventory starts to build but there is nothing pointing in that direction at this time.

Key take away- the real estate market is always fluctuating. People still want to own their own place.  Feel free to call and chat with one of our experienced real estate professionals – 914-337-7888