Whether you’ve watched the news or been on social media, everyone is telling you ALL the wrong things about home buying right now. It may seem daunting with the buzz phrases of “high-interest rates” and “unaffordable insurance.” And, look, I’m not saying these things don’t factor in at all! But, I am saying, get off the fence and get into the homebuyer pool before things change again. Here’s why you shouldn’t wait to buy a house.
Interest rates will come down.
Not only will interest rates come back down, but when they do, the buyers who have been waiting will all be back house hunting! This means bidding wars will resurface in our market. And if you know anyone who bought a house in the New Orleans area between the summer of 2020 to late spring 2022, it wasn’t very good. Every home had at least ten offers and went anywhere from 10-100k over the listing price.
Insurance companies will come back.
We have it on good authority (but LAWD! Don’t hold me to this if it doesn’t happen!) that at least one huge insurance company has plans to re-enter the New Orleans market in October 2023.
If this company returns, that means others will too! When insurance rates start dropping, buyers will be back in full force. And then, we circle back to a highly competitive market.
This is all hypothetical until we pass the peak of hurricane season, though!
INVENTORY
The buyers we currently have keep complaining we don’t have a lot of inventory – but, trust us, it’s a lot more than we have had in recent years. Start thinking of sweat equity and paint colors. Make a house your home, and quit looking for perfection. The price you can get today, plus the work you can put into it, will pay off big time later on! (Prices have not dropped exponentially in this market. But there are some deals to be had!)
Interest rates affect your buying power.
While higher interest rates affect your buying power, there are options out there for helping to buy down this number. Seller closing costs are very popular right now with helping buyers have a cheaper interest rate for a couple of years. Theoretically, interest rates will be down by then, and then you can refinance to the current market rates.
The real estate market is like a living, breathing life force all on its own. Things constantly change and you can’t expect low interest rates forever. you also can’t expect housing numbers to change too drastically all the time. (Trust us, you don’t even want that. It means a very volatile economy.) Luckily, New Orleans is not experiencing bidding wars any longer and buyers have more opportunity to negotiate.
Let’s start your home-buying process now! Message us!
Contact Team Be New Orleans