Mortgage Rates and Housing Forecast for 2019

Mortgage Rates and Housing Forecast for 2019

We saw interest rates rise slightly last year, but the good news is that we don’t expect to see a huge increase this year. Rates seem to be stabilizing and currently are just about the same level as they were this time last Spring. To add another positive to this, the real estate market even though purchase prices are higher right now than they were this time last year, we are seeing signs of returning to a more normal market and not such a frenzy that we saw last year. This is good for both buyers and sellers.

The market was so frenzied last year that it was hard on both buyers and sellers. We had many sellers that didn’t want to put their homes on the market because they were afraid they would not be able to get a winning bid on a new home. With multiple offers being received and buyers having to waive safeguards that normally exist in a transaction, last year wasn’t good for buyers either.

The expectations for this year seem much brighter for both buyers and sellers. We are FAR from a bubble however! We expect to have a very active market, meaning instead of having 20 offers on a new listing it might sit on the market a few days, weeks or even months if a seller is trying to push the value up too much. If it’s priced right initially however, you will still see multiple offers. We just had a new listing this week that got 18 offers right out of the gate, but the seller was willing to take our suggestion, we priced it right and therefore we were able to get it bid up higher than the seller even anticipated we would get. We are still early in the selling season too so we don’t have as much inventory on the market right now as we will see when we get closer to Spring and Summer. Honestly, right now is a perfect time to list your home because there isn’t as much inventory and believe me buyers are out there hoping this will be their year for home ownership!

2019 may end up being the very best year to buy a home. We are expecting more inventory, and rates are expected to remain stable with just a slight uptick. So if you missed out on selling your home last year, think about selling now. Buyer’s, great time for you as well as we head into Spring and Summer we will start seeing more and more inventory coming on the market.
Here’s to a wonderful housing market in the Pacific Northwest in 2019!

#BuyNow #WashingtonRealEstateAppreciation #BuyRealEstate #SellRealEstate #HeilbrunHomeTeam #DreamHomes #HomeOwnership #BuyorSellHomes

Dawn Heilbrun, Owner
The Heilbrun Home Team
253-307-6438
John L. Scott – Pierce, King, Thurston Counties (and More)
Www.HeilbrunHomeTeam.com
Www.orting.johnlscott.com
Dawnh@johnlscott.com