Podcast - 7/21/23

I'm Tom.

I'm Jay.

Jay Day and the Day Home Team of Real Estate Teams with weekly real estate podcast. What are we going with here in Midsummer?

Well, as we've been talking about, interest rates are still up higher than they were during the pandemic. And what we're starting to see, honestly, is that home buyers are starting to get used to this new normal of, these are the rates. Nothing is really changing and people are starting to, the buyers are starting to accept that is what we're seeing. Where before everybody got spoiled, like we talked about with the super low rates. And we're just seeing an adjustment now where people are realizing that the 30 year is going to be between 6 and 7%. It's been holding steady in that 6 to 7% range. And we're not seeing, of course we had some buyers that fell out because they can't afford the home anymore. But the ones that are out there, there's no flinching at the interest rates. I think, again, it's almost like this has become the new normal. And I was reading an article the other day, and Lawrence John, the chief economist for NAR, said with talk about the mortgage rates, they play a significant role in buyer demand. And mortgage rates are heavily influenced, they heavily influenced the direction of home sales. Relatively steady rates have led to several consecutive months of consistent home sales. So again, we're looking, and even NAR is seeing, wow, since they've been steady in that 6 to 7 range, we've actually seen consecutive months of consistent home sales where there hasn't been a dip because people are freaking out over the rate changes.

So you say that they're pretty much accepting this, I mean, if they want to get a home and they want to get a loan.

yeah, there's not much.

Okay. There's not much they can do. I mean, there's not much inventory. So if they want to get the house, they've got to pull the, they pull the trigger.

Yeah. I mean, it just looks like they're really making, they're adapting to it because it was crazy. We went from, they surged from roughly 3% to 7% and that sort of had everybody tapping on their brakes. Like, whoa, hold on. What in the heck is happening here? It was not a slow incline, it was a fast jolt, like a rocket shooting up with what happened. And now people are realizing, okay, this is the new normal. Those rates that existed before were not normal. Maybe shame on us for not doing something then, but like you said, if we want to buy a house, we're in a situation now that it is what it is.

Well, during the podcast over the years, we've done this for many, many years when rates were really, really low and you told people, you said, hey look, this is kind of abnormal here.

Well, and it was funny cause I remember the economist and all of these people were saying, oh, they're not going to increase that fast. They're going to cap out at five and a half in 2023. And I was like, I don't believe that. And then obviously they were incorrect and we hit, we've had rates just over 7% at times and that was not expected to even happen into 2024. So what I've learned is, again, the predictive things are, you never know, and ultimately rates continue to raise. People are still buying things and that's the situation that we're in. And just because of interest rates being high doesn't mean people don't have to move and people have to have a roof over their head. It's just one of those things that's out there. And the biggest thing I would say is condition wise, sellers are having to do a little more. And most contracts now there are inspections, so that's not the end of the world either. The good thing is if you buy now, you probably can get a home inspection where before you were having to waive all types of things just to even get a house, but you got it at a lower monthly payment is what I would say. So you're ready for the house of the week?

Always.

All right. 3644 Biddle Road in Meyersville. This one just hit the market. 529 is the asking price. Discovered the charm of country living in this large rancher. Has three bedrooms, two full bathrooms, over 2,800 square feet of finished square footage on the main level alone. It's a huge rancher. One of the neat things when I went out to this house is you look around and you see mountains, it's the views out there in Meyersville are absolutely gorgeous. They've got a screened-in porch, they have a rear deck. This one again, the mountain views, there's plenty of parking. There's a detached two car garage. There's a partially finished basement, so it's a massive amount of space in the basement. The neat thing is too, the people that are selling it now doesn't mean the new folks have to have it, but they have chicken coops, they've got their own chickens out there.

Chickens are more popular than ever, man.

Oh yeah. I mean, with the price of eggs and everything else. And I mean, it's a gardener's delight too. They have everything under the sun growing out there. And the neat thing again with Meyersville is you get that country tranquility, but you're still have the convenience. You're right in between Middletown and Frederick and you know, have restaurants, shopping, everything you want and then you step out on your front porch and you just look around and see the beautiful mountains. If you want to see what this home looks like, go to wfre.com. Look up Tom and Jay's real estate podcast. We have photos, we have aerial photography of this too. Take a peek at it. If you like what you see, let us know and we will get you in for a private tour.

I'm Tom.

I'm Jay.

of Jay Day and the Day Home Team of Real Estate Teams with our weekly real estate podcast. Thank you so much for listening. Always tell your friends all about it.