Source: The Ascent —
2022 has been a bad year to be an aspiring homeowner (and until fairly recently, it was a pretty good year to be a home seller). And it’s not clear whether it will get easier in 2023, either. That said, the housing market tide may be starting to turn, and if you’re considering buying, it might be a good time to offer a lower price than a seller is asking for their home. Why is that?
The housing market is showing signs of softening
It’s been an interesting time to watch the housing market (and be happy that my own plans to buy are targeting 2024 at the earliest). Redfin’s November 2022 research found that prices are finally starting to stabilize at a lower level; during the four-week period ending Nov. 6, sale prices only rose 3.2% year over year, which is the smallest increase since June 2020. The median home price has fallen by 8.4% since its all-time high in June 2022. These are encouraging signs.
Redfin also noted that fewer people are searching “homes for sale” (per Google Trends) at the time of this writing, versus a year previously (November 2021). In fact, the search term was down 28% year over year. This suggests demand for homes is easing, and prospective buyers are no longer willing to fall all over themselves to offer higher prices than sellers are asking just to be assured of getting an offer accepted. There’s another big reason to moderate your offer on a home: mortgage rates.
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