Usually, the holiday months are some of the slowest for the local real estate market. But during the pandemic, the market was hot year round. This year, things have calmed down a bit and realtors are anticipating a slow winter.
"I witnessed so much heartache over the last couple of years," said Natalie Richardson, Managing Broker at Dickson Realty. "It was tough to tell buyers consistently, week after week, sorry, you've been outbid again; sorry, the offer was rejected again. So I think now just being able to share happy news with our clients is wonderful. To tell them, hey, you got the house, we came in under asking and they're paying for your buyers' costs right now. So I think it's a great time to be a buyer."
There are double the number of homes for sale compared to this time last year. Some have been on the market for months, and prices are dropping.
"It's mostly due to the interest rates, but also inflation," Richardson said. "Whenever we have rising cost of living, it's going to make people a little more hesitant to make bigger purchases, maybe a even a little more pessimistic about where their future home value might go."
Now that things have cooled off, she says potential homebuyers can take a little more time to shop around - both for lenders and for a home they really want.
"We have many great, qualified local lenders here," she said. "Its not a one-size-fits-all loan product, there are plenty of products that will match your unique situation. And you have the time to shop around for a home and find the right one. I think looking back over the last couple of years, there was a little bit of buyer's remorse that happened. Now you won't see that as much."
Mortgage rates are double what they were at the beginning of the year and there's not a lot of hope for relief in the short term, though next year could be better.
"We are expecting to see rates go down over the next year, probably not within the next few months, but maybe trending downward over the next year," Richardson said. "And that will help a few buyers that are maybe on the fence right now get back into the market, and we'll see some things pick up again."
