$Cha-Ching!$ – Don’t walk, RUN

I know you’ve been hearing all kinds of things about the current market, and it has been quite unique and at times a little crazy. As we head into winter people naturally assume that the market slows down, which is true to an extent, and we have seen things cool off a bit from the insanely hot market conditions we have seen this summer. But right now, if you have a house under $400,000 and you’re thinking of selling – Don’t walk, RUN to my office so we can take advantage of this great sellers market! I’ll tell you why…

We measure whether it is a buyer’s market or seller’s market with something called absorption rate, which translates to if homes keep selling at the current rate, with no more homes going on the market, how many months would it take to sell out of homes? Typically a balanced market is considered to be between 4-6 months worth of homes on the market. So where are we at right now?

Right now for single family homes under $400k we have less than 2 months worth of homes on the market, which means we can pad your pockets with a little more cash by selling your home in these advantageous conditions. $Cha-Ching!$ Keller Williams does extensive research all across the industry, so I get to stay up to date with the most current information available. Check out the stats below for single family home sales in Salt Lake County:

You can see that we are still low on inventory, especially in the first time home buyer price range. I work primarily with first time home buyer’s myself, and I can attest to the fact that it is slim pickings out there with an absorption rate very close to only 1 month’s supply. The most desirable homes in this price range are often under contract in just a few days.

Considering all price ranges and home types, we are selling just as much volume right now as we did in 2006 just before the crash, equaling a total of $4,592,000 in real estate sold in Salt Lake County in 2015. It really doesn’t get better than this. We’re not expecting another crash, but it is predicted that a market shift will take place in the near future.

Another condition that benefits your bank account in more ways than one: interest rates. Interest rates are extraordinarily low, which has many home owners choosing to either refinance or upgrade to a new home because they can usually either lower their current mortgage payment, or they can buy a much better house for the same monthly payment they are making now. Plus they get top dollar for the home they own now when it sells. Not a bad deal.

Low interest rates also means that many buyers are qualifying to buy homes that wouldn’t be able to if rates were to rise, or they are qualifying to purchase much more of a house than they were expecting. This is driving large amounts of home buyers to take advantage of their opportunity to fulfill the American dream of owning a home while it’s both affordable and possible. This is one big reason why the supply of homes in the lower price brackets is so scarce.

Interest rates are the biggest determining factor in how much buying power you have! Even more so than home prices.

Now, these conditions won’t last forever. The feds have been talking about raising interest rates for a while now, and policy makers expect to hike interest rates again by end of year. Historically interest rates tend to rise following a presidential election, like clock-work. Cause and effect then take place – higher interest rates means less people qualifying to buy and people qualifying to buy less than before, which means less money and/or a longer time on the market for you if you’re selling. A slight raise makes a bigger difference than you might think.

So now’s your chance – Let’s get you that $Cha-Ching!$ and into the house of your dreams.

If you would like to stay informed about your local real estate market, please text, call or email me so I can add you to my VIP list to get periodic market updates.

Heather Heaton – 612.356.4384 – heatherheaton@kw.com