Here's why it's so hard to buy a home right now (via CNBCMakeIt)
That's driving up prices even higher than last year: The median home sale price was up 14% during the four-week period ending January 16 compared to a year ago, reaching $358,500, per Redfin., often for well over asking. With the record-low inventory, that's expected to continue this year, at least through the spring season, says Jeff Tucker, senior economist at Zillow.
While less competition overall could theoretically be good for first-time buyers, the steep price increases and rising mortgage rates will likely keep many on the sidelines. Even a jump from a 3% interest rate to 3.5% increases a monthly mortgage payment by 7%, says Tucker. "Rising interest rates shrink budgets," he says. "For first-time buyers, this is a very difficult market for them.", which would help supply, it still needs to make up for decades of underbuilding across the U.S. to satisfy demand.
All of this means sellers will continue to have the upper hand for the foreseeable future, says Tucker.Sign up now:
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