You should never make the decision to buy or sell a house in a vacuum.

The market matters – a lot.

So, whether you’re currently thinking about selling or buying, you simply can’t afford not to know how the real estate market is right now. Fortunately, there are only a few trends you really need to understand in order to make the right decision about a home.

Selling your home is a big decision, which is why you should take a moment to understand the three biggest trends impacting the market right now. If you’re on the fence, this may make all the difference.

1. Demand Is Still Strong

For the past few months, the vast majority of real estate markets throughout the country saw a cooling-off period for sellers. Prior to that, aggressive bidding wars and climbing prices had become the norm.

That’s beginning to change as there are now fewer available houses at the same time that more millennials are deciding they want to buy.

In fact, there’s plenty of reason to believe that we’ll soon be seeing a strong seller’s market across the entire country. Even better, those market conditions should stick around well through 2023 and perhaps even beyond.

Millennials now represent the largest demographic of homebuyers, making up 51% of all mortgages. That is a massive amount of homebuyers who will continue fueling the market for years and years to come.

2. Days on Market (DOM) Is a More Important Metric Than Ever Before

That being said, it’s still important to understand that your local real estate market can still differ greatly from the national market. Although it may still be a seller’s market where you live, it would be wise to gauge just how much demand there is before deciding to sell. You might need to wait a bit longer for your local market to heat up before putting your house on the market.

While an experienced real estate agent can assist (e.g. with the help of a competitive market analysis), you can also gauge your local market’s temperature simply by looking at its average days on market (DOM).

The longer you’re seeing homes in your area stay on the market, the more reason to wait until you see that trend reverse. Otherwise, you risk paying to keep your home listed for far longer than necessary while you wait for it to sell. Even worse, the longer your house stays on the market, the more unattractive it looks to buyers, which means extending the wait even longer.

3. Pricing Counts for a Lot in Slower Markets

Finally, if you do find yourself in a slower market, it doesn’t necessarily mean no one will buy your house. It doesn’t even mean you’ll have to accept a loss.

However, you will definitely need to be much more careful about the price you choose.

If you are tempted into pricing your house too high, you could find your house passed over until you bring the amount down. In the meantime, your DOM will increase, dropping your home’s perceived value.

Despite what a lot of people assume, the real estate market can be good for both buyers and sellers.

In fact, if it’s too lopsided for one or the other, many economists would warn it can’t possibly last and that both groups will end up worse off.

So, the good news is that it’s a great time to be a buyer, but you still need to understand what to expect from the current real estate market.

1. First-Time Buyers May Struggle with Costs

Housing prices are still on the rise throughout the country, but even where they remain stable, the houses that are on the market are toward the mid-to-high end in terms of price.

Savvy buyers that do their research and are able to remain flexible about some of their demands should still be able to purchase homes within their budget, but they shouldn’t feel too confident about negotiating prices down.

2. Mortgages Rates Are At Record Highs

When purchasing a home, majority of home buyers take out a mortgage loan. With this loan, they must also do research to try to get the best rate since this affects your monthly payment — and ultimately how much home you can afford.

Unfortunately, for buyers mortgage rates have been increasing substantially since mid-2022.

Currently, you can find 30-year loans around 6.0%.

3. Smaller Cities Are Where the Deals Are At

Remaining flexible could mean something as simple as considering a smaller city than what you had originally wanted.

Big cities are becoming more and more expensive, which is why, as Millennials enter the real estate market, many are heading to the suburbs.

So, consider suburbs nearby that will still give you easy access to the city without the same price tag for a house. You may even find you’re able to buy much more house with your budget thanks to smaller-city prices.

Are You Ready to Buy a New Home?

Time’s running out to buy a house before we see a seller’s market emerge.

At SimpleShowing, we’d love to help you purchase the home of your dreams before the market shifts. Even better, you could earn up to $15,000 for doing so thanks to our Buyer Refund Program.

Contact us today and we’ll explain exactly how the simple process works.