Robin Krieb
Realty Executives Midwest
OMG why are housing prices so high? Is this a sign of an impending crash?
Great questions that I'm here to answer.
First let's delve into why houses are inflating in price. It's the concept of demand outweighing supply (buyers outnumbering sellers). When this happens, prices of homes can go up quite a bit. According to Realtor.com®, "Nationally, median home list prices shot up 17.2% year over year in April."
The good news is the projection that over the next year or two, things will level off (we won't see as many bidding wars). It is still expected that housing prices will continue increasing, but not at the rate they are currently. One contributing factor to this is that as states are opening up and loosening Covid-restrictions, people are beginning to go out more and spend less time in their homes.
Second let's discuss an impending crash. Leading market experts and economists believe this won't happen as it did in 2008. To begin with, back then supply outstripped demand due in part to the overbuilding that took place. More importantly, bad mortgages were quite common. Neither of these two factors are happening currently. In addition, the economy is beginning to improve and forebearance programs have kept many homes from going into foreclosure.
That's good news for those looking to buy or sell real estate!
If I listed all that realtors do to get your home sold, you might be surprised, even astounded!
The following 7 reasons are just the tip of why you should use a realtor to sell your home:
Getting the job done so you can move on with your life :)
Robin
Chicago is in a precarious position (in a lot of ways, but for the purpose of this post I’m referring to real estate). Some people who moved closer to downtown Chicago specifically to be close to their place of employment are now finding it unnecessary if they have been working from home. Also, spending more time at home is making people want more space inside as well as out (yard).
According to Crain’s Chicago and MRED data, areas like the northern part of the Loop have fifteen months of inventory available (people leaving=lots of homes on the market=higher inventory).
This is driving people who still want to live in Chicago to the outer neighborhoods. Places like Logan Square, Bucktown, Andersonville, Rogers Park and Albany Park are seeing just under a three month inventory of homes.
For those of you playing along at home, four to six months of inventory is generally considered a healthy market.
Then there are those people who just want out of Chicago (higher taxes, crime, recent looting) who are packing up and heading to the burbs! A lot of suburbs are currently seeing the low inventory I’ve blogged about previously.
Sooo, this might be a good time for my investor friends to look into the Loop area…or those of you who have always wanted a place close to downtown Chicago. You’re more likely to get a property for a deal (and you know, I LOVE a deal)!
There are so many reasons why NOW is the best time to buy or sell a home. One is definitely mortgage rates. Today I read that 30-Yr Mortgage Rates are at 2.98%. This is the first time since Freddie Mac started its Primary Mortgage Market Survey in 1971 that the average 30-yr fixed-rate mortgage fell below 3%. A lot of people don't think they can afford a home, but I implore you to check with a mortgage lender before making that decision. Owning a home could be in your near future!
Second reason (on the selling side of things), inventory is very low in general. This can mean getting top dollar for your home. Buyers are out there (you know, mortgage rates and all).
Third (I'll hit both sides of things with this point), many people just got plain bored and tired of the location where they sheltered in place. They want a yard....or a place to spread out...or room to breathe...or have purged a lot of their stuff and are ready to downsize...or they're having a baby...or they're getting a divorce. So many reasons. Maybe one of these rings true for you?
If so, I'm here for you! Let's get you that dream home today :)
