Has the Real estate market heated up this summer? You Bet! But according to some of the most recent statistics, like fall weather, it is cooling off a bit. What does this mean?
For buyers it is good. Slowing price gains, and low interest rates make homes affordable to all buyers, especially first time home buyers.
According to the Wall Street Journal and USA Today, some new statistics show a slight downturn in the real estate market.
For Example:
- Home prices in June fell .3% the first negative month since January 2012.
- New home sales were down 6.1% in June. Sales fell from May in every region, led by a 20% decline in the Northeast. The falloffs elsewhere were 1.9% in the West, 8.2% in the Midwest and 9.5% in the South.
- The existing supply of homes “For Sale” represents 5.8 months of demand the most since October 2011.
The WOW news is, that it’s still a buyers’ market. Now is the time to buy! “The best investment you can make is to buy a primary residence” says John Paulson, who runs a hedge fund at Paulson & CO. The interest rates on a 30 year fixed loan are still hovering at 4.5%.
The other advantage a buyer has right now is “Concessions”. Most buyers can ask the seller to help pay closing costs (Concessions) as part of the Sales contract. Average is about $4000/$6000, which is quite a substantial savings to the buyer. This has become customary in a buyers’ market.
However should the market ever heat up significantly this could disappear. In a Sellers’ market concessions are rarely paid.
Get out there and start looking. Zillow is a great web site to see what’s available in the area you’re looking to buy. Realtors® know where the good deals are and will negotiate a great price for a serious buyer.
If you wait, you could lose out on one of the best home buying climates of all time. Get busy, get buying.
