Buying Trends

If there’s one thing that’s certain it’s that the buying and selling trends of October 2021 are wildly and vastly different than the buying and selling trends of October 2022. Last year, we were still squarely in a hot seller’s market. Interest rates were still low, buyers were competitive and homes were selling in mere days for well above asking price. Today? Not so much. 

In October 2022, we saw interest rates more than double those of this time last year. This is, however, causing home prices to start to tumble. According to a recent report by Realtor.com, October’s median home price fell to $425,000- down from June’s record setting $449,000. List prices are still up considerably, over 13%, compared to October of ‘21. But the rate of people reducing their home prices because their homes are sitting on the market is growing. Nearly one-fifth of sellers slashed their prices in October, more than double the number who made price cuts last year.

Why? 

Why would an increase in mortgage rates cause home prices to drop? Well, when interest rates rise, so do monthly mortgage payments, and with such a sharp increase in rates, it has simply boxed thousands upon thousands of would-be buyers out of the market. With fewer potential buyers, sellers have to entice the remaining ones. When faced with fewer offers, sellers cut prices to attract buyers. 

This is due in large part to the number of days homes are sitting on the current market. The typical home spent 51 days on the market in September. That’s 20 more days than in May, when homes were snapped up in the shortest time on record since Realtor.com first began tracking this data in 2016.

If you’re selling in today’s market, partner with professionals like the team at Southern Charm Realty, who understands the business and can help you through these uncertain times.