The best doesn’t come cheap

Posted on October 30, 2023 by grim

From Travel+Leisure:

10 Best Places to Live in New Jersey, According to Local Real Estate Experts

Recreational and economic opportunities play a major role in choosing where to settle down. As one of the most business-friendly states in the nation, New Jersey’s economy is booming while also offering residents direct and quick access to New York City and Philadelphia. But the state also has a spectacular variety of natural sights—more than 900 lakes and rivers, 127 miles of picture-perfect Atlantic coastline dotted with quaint resort towns and beaches, over two dozen state parks, and even more natural areas. Add to that its exceptional public school system that often ranks in the top three in the country, and you get an idea why people are drawn to the Garden State. Unsurprisingly, all of this makes for some pretty happy residents—New Jersey took the fifth spot in WalletHub’s recent survey of the happiest states, ranking high in emotional and physical well-being, work environment, community and environment, and low in suicide rates, depression, and separation and divorce.

  1. Jersey City – New Jersey’s second-largest city sits along the Hudson River, rewarding its residents with postcard-perfect views of the Manhattan skyline. The city has grown incredibly in the past 15 years, from sleek high-rises along the waterfront to the trendy bars and restaurants that have popped up along its historic, tree-lined streets.
  2. Hoboken – “Geographically, Hoboken is only about one square mile in total,” Peter Cossio, a sales agent at Brown Harris Stevens, said, adding that its nickname is Mile Square City. “On the west side of this mile, you’ll find one of the fastest-growing areas with new sustainable parks and services to be found on nearly every corner, including the Monroe Center, a factory [that was converted] to a multiuse space where you can find boutique fitness and health studios, kids’ programs, office lofts, retail spaces, dining establishments, and artist studios.
  3. Princeton – Princeton may be a small town, famous for its Ivy League university, but it also draws new residents with its robust jobs market and proximity to Philadelphia and New York City. From locally owned shops to world-class brands like Hermes and trendy farm-to-table restaurants to classic diners, Princeton has it all.
  4. Montclair – Known for its blend of urban and suburban conveniences, Montclair is the perfect choice for New York City commuters (it’s only 15 miles away from the city) seeking top-notch schools, a vibrant year-round cultural program, excellent restaurants, and an abundance of parks and green spaces.
  5. Ridgewood – Ridgewood, together with neighboring Ho-Ho-Kus, are often stated as two of the best places to live in the country for their excellent public schools, family-friendly amenities, and safety. Realtor.com also recently named Ridgewood as the third most popular zip code in the U.S. for its idyllic setting, proximity to Manhattan, and many parks. Both towns are located in Bergen County, about 18 miles from New York City, and are two of the most affluent communities in the Garden State.
  6. Milburn-Short Hills – “People are often initially drawn to Millburn for its reputation as one of the top public school systems in New Jersey. But in addition to an outstanding education, Millburn offers extensive recreational activities (a public pool, golf, and tennis), lovely outdoor spaces, and the locally renowned theater, the Paper Mill Playhouse — all with two train stations and Midtown Direct service to Penn Station in New York,” said Sue Lemkau of Harrison-Lemkau Real Estate Partners, Lois Schneider Realtor.
  7. Wayne – This town in Passaic County has a high-ranking school system — both public and private — which is a draw for many families seeking excellent education and suburban amenities close to Manhattan. Wayne is also home to three lake communities — Lionshead, Packanack, and Pines Lake — with beaches, playgrounds, and picnic tables, according to Joseph Simone, a realtor with Howard Hanna Rand Realty.
  8. Avalon/Stone Harbor – “Avalon and Stone Harbor offer the perfect combination of a vibrant, luxury summer resort atmosphere and the peacefulness of serene beach living during the off-season,” said Jennifer Gensemer, a sales agent at Long & Foster. 
  9. Middletown – “Middletown dates back to pre-Revolutionary War times, and there’s a distinct sense of history in many areas. Housing styles vary considerably, from French chateau and Tuscan [designs] to grand center hall colonial to modern,” Thomas McCormack, senior partner and broker at Resources Real Estate, said, noting the town is also home to New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy and musician Jon Bon Jovi. Regular commuter train and ferry services guarantee a fast and convenient commute to New York City. 
  10. Fair Haven – “Fair Haven has long been one of the most popular towns in Monmouth County. It has a wonderful small-town yet sophisticated feel. With restaurants, a library, and retail like the corner hardware store and River Road Books right in the heart of town, it’s easy to see why it’s a favorite place to live,” Katherine Raftery, a sales agent at Resources Real Estate, said, adding that in recent years, the town has been popular with families moving from Hoboken and Jersey City. The town has a diverse mix of homes that run the gamut from Victorian to sleek new constructions.

Posted in Demographics, New Jersey Real Estate | 38 Comments

Sorry kids, the boomers aren’t leaving what you thought they were.

Posted on October 29, 2023 by grim

Great piece from Insider:

The myth of the Great Boomer Wealth Transfer

When my husband’s grandmother turned 87, our family realized it was time for us to take over her affairs. Grandma Sue was ailing and recently widowed, so we decided that it was best for her to turn over her finances. Between retirement savings and the proceeds from the sale of her house, she had about $250,000 in assets at the time. She told my husband that he would inherit all of it. On the face of it, Grandma Sue’s generosity seemed like it would be a huge financial help for our family since the money was just about enough to pay off our mortgage. But my husband wasn’t banking on a windfall.  

Grandma Sue was able to cover the cost of assisted living with the income she was receiving from Social Security and the income on her savings. But after six years, she needed round-the-clock care and eventually was moved into a nursing home. The transition was tough and the nursing home wasn’t cheap, but it was necessary to keep her comfortable. Eventually, Grandma Sue dipped into her principal to keep up with the bills, and after eight years, she had gone through the majority of her assets. At that point, she qualified for Medicaid, which covered the cost of her care. But that left my husband’s inheritance at about $2,000, the maximum amount of assets you could have at the time to go on Medicaid. 
…
We were happy that Grandma Sue had enough money to afford a good quality of life — she was able to get the kind of care she needed during her last years. That said, $2,000 is peanuts compared to the roughly $250,000 she had expected to pass on. Instead of paying off our mortgage, we used the money to replace our dining-room windows. 

As the boomer generation hits their twilight years, the question of what will happen to their money has become a source of fascination and consternation for economists, estate planners, and families across the country. Boomers hold a massive amount of wealth: The 55.8 million Americans over 65, about 17% of the population, hold half of America’s wealth — $96.4 trillion, according to the Federal Reserve. The general assumption is that as this older generation dies, that money will trickle down to younger generations and give cash-strapped families a leg up. Consider it the Great Boomer Wealth Transfer — when their parents or grandparents die, millions of Gen Xers, millennials, and Gen Zers could receive a financial windfall that will help them catch up financially. But it isn’t that simple. 

Death, they say, is the great equalizer. But even death can’t offset wealth inequality. Most of the money held by America’s older generations will get eaten up by long-term care and end-of-life costs, and what remains will mostly end up in the hands of other already-wealthy people. Instead of an inheritance boom, the reality is that most Americans will not receive a vast fortune to ameliorate their grief. 

Posted in Demographics, Economics, National Real Estate, Where's the Beef? | 17 Comments

Home offices spur office homes

Posted on October 27, 2023 by grim

Fun collection of stories this morning:

Why turning offices into homes is a terrible idea

City of Ottawa looking at ways to make office-to-residential conversions easier

Conversion of vacant London offices could deliver 28,000 homes to the UK capital

These Ten U.S. Cities Are Converting the Most Offices to Residential

Commercial-to-residential Conversion: Addressing Office Vacancies

A New White House Plan to Create Affordable Housing: Convert Empty Office Buildings

Posted in Demographics, Economics, Employment, Housing Bubble, National Real Estate, New Development | 112 Comments

Who the heck is refinancing right now?

Posted on October 26, 2023 by grim

From CNBC:

Adjustable-rate mortgage demand hits highest level in nearly a year as interest rates continue to climb

Mortgage demand has essentially stalled at the slowest pace since 1995 as mortgage interest rates continue to rise.

Total application volume dropped 1% last week compared to the previous week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s seasonally adjusted index.

One type of mortgage, however, is seeing new life. The adjustable-rate mortgage share of total demand hit 9.5%, the highest level in nearly a year. ARMs offer slightly lower rates.

The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($726,200 or less) increased to 7.90% from 7.70%, with points increasing to 0.77 from 0.71 — including the origination fee — for loans with a 20% down payment.

The average contract interest rate for 5/1 ARMs increased to 6.99% from 6.52%.

“Ten-year Treasury yields climbed higher last week, as global investors remained concerned about the prospect for higher-for-longer rates and burgeoning fiscal deficits,” said Joel Kan, an MBA economist, in a release. “Rates have now risen seven consecutive weeks at a cumulative amount of 69 basis points.”

Applications to refinance a home loan increased 2% from the previous week and were 8% lower than the same week one year ago. That annual comparison is shrinking because refinancing crashed just over a year ago, when mortgage rates first started to rise sharply.

Refinances now make up less than a third of total application activity. Just two years ago, when rates were hovering around record lows, they made up two thirds of mortgage demand.

Posted in Economics, Housing Bubble, Mortgages, National Real Estate | 110 Comments

Buyer must feed the …

Posted on October 25, 2023 by grim

From NorthJersey.com:

Once a New Jersey church, this $650K Zillow Gone Wild home for sale comes with a graveyard

When browsing homes for sale, you stumble upon a swimming pool or a newly built deck. But, have you ever seen a home that comes with a cemetery? Just in time for Halloween, we’ve found one for you: The property at 198 Locktown Flemington Road in Delware Township.

A former church that was recently converted into a single-family home, this property is listed for sale for $650,000. Its current owner, local architect Ralph L. Finelli, renovated the church to include modern living features. Now, a three-bedroom, three-bathroom home, the 1.1 acre property is ready for its next owner — as long as you don’t mind sharing the property with a few former congregants.

The former Locktown Christian Church first opened its doors in 1828, and later became a Presbyterian church in the 1980s. The 19th-century church was sold to its current owner in 2014 for $74,538 after the church’s congregation decided to merge with another nearby Presbyterian church.

This listing, outside of Flemington in Hunterdon County, was featured on Zillow Gone Wild — an Instagram page dedicated to highlighting unique (and sometimes crazy) home listings across the county — for the ancient cemetery that comes with the property. There are as many as 150 people buried in the cemetery, with the earliest gravestone being for Charity Allen, who died in 1843.

If you’re not looking to take on the pressure of maintaining these historic graves, don’t worry. An organization known as the Mount Amwell Project entered an agreement with the seller to maintain the cemetery, said Kevin McPheeters, a realtor with Callaway Henderson Sotheby’s International Realty who is managing the listing. The organization will tend to the monuments and stones within the cemetery, while the new owner will be responsible for mowing the lawn.

Posted in Crisis, Housing Bubble, Humor, New Jersey Real Estate | 145 Comments

Congratulations, you are rich.

Posted on October 24, 2023 by grim

From the Manhattan Institute:

Economics Newsletter: Fed Survey Shows Widened Inequality as Stock and Home Prices Rise

Last week, The Fed released its tri-annual Survey of Consumer Finances, a survey that offers a detailed look into American household finances. It shows that contrary to many reports, many households are struggling especially with inflation. This figure is the value of financial assets by income group. Despite stimulus checks and being stuck at home, low-income households did not save much money. They still have less than they did in 2007. Meanwhile, higher stock and home prices means inequality has widened. 

Posted in Demographics, Economics, Housing Bubble, National Real Estate | 67 Comments

Where’s the tipping point? 9%? 10%?

Posted on October 23, 2023 by grim

From CNBC:

The housing market was already painful, ugly and anxious. Now the 8% mortgage rate is back

Today’s housing market is a toxic mix of high mortgage rates, high prices, tight supply and strangely strong pent-up demand — and it’s scaring off buyers and sellers alike.

Prices were already high, driven by supercharged demand during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. Now the popular 30-year fixed mortgage rate is at 8%, the highest in decades, making things even tougher. Mortgage demand is at its lowest point in nearly 30 years.

“I think it’s painful. I think it’s ugly,” Matthew Graham, chief operating officer at Mortgage News Daily, said on CNBC’s “The Exchange” on Thursday.
…
Would-be sellers, meanwhile, are trapped. They have little desire to trade the 3% rate they currently have for an 8% mortgage rate on a new purchase.

“I don’t think anybody in my community of mortgage originators would disagree that in many ways, this is worse than the great financial crisis in terms of volume and activity,” MND’s Graham said.

He’s also unsure when the market will see a decline in rates. “But we do hear a chorus of Fed speakers, especially last week, in a very notable way, saying that they are restrictive and that they can wait and see what happens with the policy filtering through to the economy,” he said.
…
Prices are a different story.

“Prices look to be flat from this point onwards at an 8% rate, despite the housing shortage,” added Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the NAR.

Yun noted that metropolitan markets with faster job growth and relatively affordable prices, however, will see an upswing in sales. He points to Florida markets such as Tampa, Jacksonville and Orlando, as well as Houston, Texas, and Memphis, Tennessee.

Buyers today will likely get the best deals from homebuilders, especially the large production builders such as Lennar and D.R. Horton. The builders are helping with affordability by buying down interest rates for their customers. This is something they have not typically done in the past — at least not at this scale.
…
For those still wanting to upgrade to a bigger home or downsize to a smaller one, they are caught in a conundrum.

Prices are still rising due to the supply and demand imbalance, but sellers are being more flexible. So a buyer could purchase now at the higher rates and hope to get a break on the price, or they can wait until rates drop.

But when they do, there is likely going to be a flood of demand, resulting in bidding wars.

Posted in Economics, Housing Bubble, Mortgages, National Real Estate | 57 Comments

Preserving History

Posted on October 21, 2023 by grim

From the NYT:

The Holmdel Horn, a Cosmic Shrine in New Jersey, Stays Put

A radio telescope that discovered evidence of the Big Bang in 1964, revolutionizing the study of the universe, will remain in its original place on Crawford Hill in Holmdel, N.J, town officials announced last week.

Rakesh Antala, a real estate developer, had proposed building a senior housing center on the site, a plan that drew opposition from residents and far-flung astronomy buffs. But an agreement between town officials and Mr. Antala seemed to augur the end of the cosmic controversy.

The Holmdel Horn Antenna, as it is known, was built in 1959 by AT&T Bell Laboratories, the renowned research arm of the phone company, for an experiment called Project Echo that relayed messages by bouncing microwaves off giant aluminized balloons.

In 1964, two young astronomers, Arno Penzias and Robert Wilson, found themselves plagued by an omnidirectional hiss as they surveyed the night sky for their own research. The static was eventually identified as leftover heat from the Big Bang. Its existence provided compelling evidence that the universe had started with a tremendous explosion; ever since, astrophysicists have been studying this radiation for clues to how and why the Big Bang happened.
…
But the location of the horn has been in dispute recently. An odyssey of ownership began in 1984, after AT&T was broken into the so-called Baby Bells. Bell Labs eventually became Lucent and then Alcatel-Lucent, which was bought by Nokia.
…
In 2020, Nokia sold its last remaining piece of the former Bell Labs complex in Holmdel — 43 acres comprising Crawford Hill, including the antenna — to Crawford Hill Holdings L.L.C., headed by Mr. Antala, a former Bell Labs administrator and serial entrepreneur.

A coalition of conservation and community groups opposed the development over concerns that it could result in the antenna being moved to another part of the hill or elsewhere altogether. It cited the need to preserve open space and protect the antenna.
…
In August, the Holmdel Township Committee took the first steps toward acquiring at least part of the hill, including the antenna, citing “a ground swelling of public support for preservation of the Crawford Hill property.”

According to a memorandum of understanding signed on Oct. 12, the town will pay $5.5 million for 35 acres, including the ground the telescope sits on, leaving the rest for Mr. Antala to develop. The town wants to make its portion of the hill into a park, perhaps to include a visitor center.

Posted in New Jersey Real Estate | 46 Comments

Home sales hit 13 year low

Posted on October 20, 2023 by grim

From CNBC:

September home sales drop to the lowest level since the foreclosure crisis

Sales of previously owned homes dropped 2% in September from August to a seasonally adjusted, annualized rate of 3.96 million units, according to the National Association of Realtors. Sales were 15.4% lower compared with September 2022.

This is the slowest sales pace since October 2010, during the Great Recession, when the market was in the midst of a foreclosure crisis. As a comparison, just two years ago, when mortgage rates hovered around 3%, home sales were running at a 6.6 million pace. The average rate on the 30-year fixed today is right around 8%, according to Mortgage News Daily.

“As has been the case throughout this year, limited inventory and low housing affordability continue to hamper home sales,” said Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist. “The Federal Reserve simply cannot keep raising interest rates in light of softening inflation and weakening job gains.”

There were 1.13 million homes for sale at the end of September, down more than 8% from a year ago. Inventory is now at a 3.4-month supply, which is slightly better than last year, but only because sales have dropped so much. Supply is based on the current sales pace.

Adding to higher mortgage rates, the median price of a home sold in September was $394,300, up 2.8% year over year. Roughly 26% of home sold above list price, due to the lack of supply which is resulting in bidding wars.

First-time buyers made up just 27% of sales. Historically, they make up about 40%.

Posted in Economics, Housing Bubble, Mortgages, National Real Estate | 110 Comments

Epic Assemblage

Posted on October 19, 2023 by grim

From the NY Post:

Ken Griffin plans to build the most expensive home on Earth — a $1B mega-estate

Palm Beach, Florida, a playground for the rich and famous, is no stranger to opulence. 

But it seems that billionaire hedge-fund manager Ken Griffin is taking luxury living to a whole new level. 

Griffin, already a prominent figure in the seaside town and a Florida native, is turning heads with his ambitious plans to create the most expensive home not just in America — but on the planet.

The enigmatic financier, known for his vast wealth and astute investments as founder and CEO of the once Chicago-based Citadel, now Miami, has made headlines by acquiring more than 20 acres of prime Palm Beach real estate. 

What’s even more astounding is that Griffin, 55, has obliterated the existing homes on this sprawling property, with intentions to spend between a staggering $150 to $400 million on constructing a mega-estate that will be worth an estimated $1 billion upon completion.
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Over the years, he has already assembled approximately 27 acres of beachfront real estate, which includes a couple of parcels on the Intracoastal Waterway. 

This colossal property is situated just a quarter mile south of former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago, a stretch of South Ocean Boulevard renowned among locals as “Billionaires’ Row.”
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As one industry insider pointed out, “If he spent nearly half a billion to buy up acres of land in Palm Beach over the last decade and is expected to spend $150 million more to build an entirely new home, that piece of property is worth at least $1 billion now.”

Posted in Comp Killer, Housing Bubble, National Real Estate, New Development | 72 Comments

Stick it to ’em

Posted on October 18, 2023 by grim

From the New York Post:

Broker commission system that charges up to 6% could face antitrust probe

The moneymaking real estate-commission system where brokers pocket as much as 6% of a sale — and critics charge inflates home prices — could face a federal antitrust probe after a years-long investigation, people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg.

The reported scrutiny by the Justice Department comes amid two private class-action lawsuits that look to loosen the stranglehold the powerful National Association of Realtors has over the residential housing market.

The NAR — the trade and lobbying group which most real estate brokerages are required to join — controls many of the country’s multiple listings services, an essential industry tool that aggregates properties available for sale in a given region.

The Justice Department has turned its focus to the real estate commission-sharing system that bakes in a 5% to 6% cut of the sale, which is split between the seller’s and buyer’s agents, according to Bloomberg.

The system, which is largely unique to the US, pushes up the overall price of homes, critics contend.

The difference in commission prices costs a US seller listing their home for $416,100 house — the median price of a house in the US, according to Federal Reserve data — about $14,000 more than it does in the other countries.

The Justice Department “is concerned about policies, practices, and rules in the residential real estate industry that may increase broker commissions,” the agency said in a recent court filing asking a federal judge in Boston to delay her decision two months on a potential settlement in a separate antitrust suit challenging commission rules.

Posted in Economics, National Real Estate, Unrest | 66 Comments

Sorry stagers, physical home staging is dead

Posted on October 17, 2023 by grim

Hard to believe these staging companies ever really existed. Warehouses full of furniture? Using humans to temporarily move in and out furniture, just to get photographs of a home?

It’s gotten a whole lot cheaper to put lipstick on the pig. Outside of very high-end luxury properties, I don’t see how any of these staging businesses stay in business for much longer.

From RIS:

WHY VIRTUAL STAGING AI IS TRANSFORMING THE HOME-STAGING INDUSTRY

The real estate industry is one of continuous evolution. From online listings to virtual tours, technological advancements have significantly impacted how homes are bought and sold. One innovation that’s been steadily gaining traction is virtual staging. Virtual staging is the art of digitally furnishing an empty home to give buyers a better sense of what the space could look like. It’s an essential tool for agents, especially in today’s digital-first world. In a development that’s far from surprising, Artificial Intelligence (AI) is making significant waves in the virtual staging sector, much like how ChatGPT has revolutionized communication in the real estate space.

Traditionally, virtual staging has been a manual process requiring designers to meticulously place furniture, decor, and other elements into photographs of empty rooms. This process can take a day or two, sometimes more. However, AI-powered services like Virtual Staging AI have revolutionized this aspect by offering a turnaround time of just 10 seconds. All a user has to do is upload a photo, select the room type and furniture style, and voilà! A fully staged room is ready, saving valuable time for real estate professionals.
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When it comes to virtual staging, not all AI platforms are created equal. The technology varies significantly in its application and suitability for real estate professionals. Services like Virtual Staging AI and VirtualStaging.Cloud focus on delivering technology that’s specifically tailored for the real estate industry. They adhere to Multiple Listing Service (MLS) compliance standards by maintaining the structural integrity of the rooms. Virtual Staging AI, for example, offers a variety of features but ensures that the original room layout remains unchanged. 
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On the other hand, some AI services are better suited for homeowners seeking design inspiration rather than for realtors aiming to sell properties. For instance, InteriorAI or Midjourney create captivating designs but take the liberty to alter structural elements like walls, windows, or doors. While the end result may be visually stunning, it’s important to understand that these types of transformations are not MLS-compliant. This limits the service’s utility for real estate agents, who require a more factual representation of the property to show to potential buyers. 

Posted in National Real Estate, Where's the Beef? | 137 Comments

Does the sales dip precede the price decline?

Posted on October 16, 2023 by grim

From the WSJ:

Home Sales on Track for Slowest Year Since Housing Bust

Posted in General | 26 Comments

Going where the cheaper homes are

Posted on October 15, 2023 by grim

From Insider:

Locals are being priced out of Texas and Florida. Here’s where they’re looking for affordable homes instead. 

As people across the US relocate to Florida and Texas, locals are feeling squeezed — and searching elsewhere for affordable homes.

The typical cost of a home in Texas has spiked 30% since 2019, according to Realtor.com, and 42% in Florida during the same time period.

These residents are increasingly searching on Realtor.com for homes outside of their state, suggesting they’re willing to chase affordability across the country.

For Texans, “the Midwest has emerged as popular recently because it is just by and large the most affordable region,” Hannah Jones, Realtor.com’s economic research analyst, told Insider. “We’re seeing this trend of buyers looking for affordability really explode.”

Texas has long been the go-to migration spot for Americans seeking reasonably priced housing and a low cost of living. But as 884,000 people moved to the state between April 2020 and July 2022, according to Census data, the cost of housing soared.

Many of these newcomers were out-of-staters who could afford to pay more for houses, pushing up prices for everyone, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Using the number of listings viewed within-state versus in other states, Realtor.com found that Texans are looking at properties for sale within their own state less than this time last year.

Wisconsin and Minnesota experienced the largest uptick in search volume from Texas year-over-year last quarter, Realtor.com data shows. Tennessee, Colorado, and Missouri followed.

Posted in Crisis, Demographics, Economics, Housing Bubble, National Real Estate | 23 Comments

Which breaks first, rates or inventory?

Posted on October 13, 2023 by grim

From MarketWatch:

Mortgage rates hit 23-year high and home prices show few signs of cooling. But Redfin says ‘all hope is not lost.’ Why?

The U.S. housing market has become unaffordable for many aspiring homeowners, priced out by either high home prices or high mortgage rates.

With mortgage rates at a 23-year high and home prices not falling substantially, affordability hit a 38-year low in September.

Yet with this backdrop, “all hope is not lost for people who want to buy a home soon,” Redfin said in a recent report.

The real-estate brokerage said two key elements of the housing market could offer an opportunity — rising inventory and volatility in mortgage rates.

New listings rose 2% since the start of September, the company said, offering a glimmer of hope that more homeowners are putting their properties on the market, Redfin said.

Even though the uptick is small, it’s still a positive sign, Chen Zhao, economic research lead at Redfin, told MarketWatch. “Inventory is certainly not getting worse and there are some signs that maybe it could even get a little bit better,” she said. “And over time, people get more used to these high rates.”

Even a “slow trickle of supply” is helpful for buyers, he added.

Rates are also taking big swings as the market tries to digest information on whether the U.S. Federal Reserve will hike interest rates at its next policy meeting, which will be held from Oct. 31 to Nov. 1.

“Even just this past week we saw kind of a big pullback and mortgage rates where they came down about 20 basis points or so,” Zhao said, reacting to speeches by Fed officials, and geopolitical conflict between Israel and Gaza. 

The 30-year mortgage reached 7.81% on Oct. 6, but has since fallen to 7.6% as of Oct. 11, according to Mortgage News Daily. “For buyers, if you’re really paying attention, sometimes you do get these small amounts of volatility, and that might give you enough of an opening to jump in,” Zhao added.

Posted in Economics | 115 Comments