Why Our Housing Market is Changing and What It Means for You
Interest rates are up, but it’s not all bad news. There are some benefits to higher rates that buyers can take advantage of in our market:
- There is less competition. Earlier this year, you could have made five or six offers before you finally got a house. That took a lot of time and energy and led to a lot of disappointment. While there are still some multiple-offer situations, they are not nearly as common as they used to be.
- Sellers are offering to cover buyer closing costs upfront. If you can negotiate for this, you can use it to pay down your interest rate and reduce your monthly payment. In general, buyers just have more negotiating power in this market.
“It’s still a good time to buy despite high interest rates.”
- Buyers can include contingencies. More buyers can include a home sale contingency in their offer, which is great for move-up or downsizing buyers. It was hard to make these contingencies work before, so this change can open up more options for you.
- Buyers can negotiate for more favorable inspections. The typical inspection in Oregon is 10 business days, but we frequently pushed that to seven or six days to stay competitive. Now you can use your full 10 days and ensure you have the right to ask for repairs or credits.
- Waiving the appraisal contingency is less common. Previously if the buyer made an offer of $500,000 but the appraiser valued the home at $490,000, the buyer usually had to cover that gap. Now you can simply renegotiate with the seller.
Let me know if you want to talk to a fantastic lender about today’s interest rates. If you have any questions about these benefits of the market in general, feel free to call me. I’d love to help.
