The future remains hard to predict, but here’s what the experts are saying…
In 2022, the market underwent a major shift as economic uncertainty and higher mortgage rates reduced buyer demand, slowed the pace of home sales, and moderated home prices. But what about 2023?
An article from HousingWire offers this perspective:
“The red-hot housing market of the past 2 ½ years was characterized by sub-three percent mortgage rates, fast-paced bidding wars and record-low inventory. But more recently, market conditions have done an about-face. . . . now is the opportunity for everyone to become re-educated about what a ‘typical’ housing market looks like.”
This year, experts agree we may see the return of greater stability and predictability in the housing market if inflation continues to ease and mortgage rates stabilize. Here’s what they have to say.
The 2023 forecast from the National Association of Realtors (NAR) says:
“While 2022 may be remembered as a year of housing volatility, 2023 likely will become a year of long-lost normalcy returning to the market, . . . mortgage rates are expected to stabilize while home sales and prices moderate after recent highs, . . .”
Danielle Hale, Chief Economist at realtor.com, adds:
“. . . buyers will not face the extreme competition that was commonplace over the past few years.”
Lawrence Yun, Chief Economist at NAR, explains home prices will vary by local area, but will net neutral nationwide as the market continues to adjust:
“After a big boom over the past two years, there will essentially be no change nationally . . . Half of the country may experience small price gains, while the other half may see slight price declines.”
Mark Fleming, Chief Economist at First American, says:
“The housing market, once adjusted to the new normal of higher mortgage rates, will benefit from continued strong demographic-driven demand relative to an overall, long-run shortage of supply.”
Southwest Florida Real Estate
Southwest Florida is still recovering from Hurricane Ian, which obviously affected our real estate market for the latter half of 2022, and will likely have a lasting effect in the months ahead. While recovery efforts are progressing more quickly than we originally expected, this is still a long-term recovery process.
We should note that real estate sales have not halted. In fact, 32 properties on Sanibel closed in December 2022. The median list price for these 32 properties was $889,500, and the median sold price was $875,000.
We encourage you to reach out to us with your real estate questions. While we don’t have a crystal ball, we can help you strategize based on the current market and your specific needs. Email us at team@mccallionrealty.com or call 239-472-1950.
