黑料吃瓜网 mortgage rates continue to hover above 5% as . While that may lead many to question whether homeownership is within reach, one 黑料吃瓜网 real estate expert said it might be the perfect time for some buyers.
Tammy Felenstein, president of the 黑料吃瓜网 Association of Realtors, called the current market 鈥渙ne of the most interesting鈥� she鈥檚 ever seen in her 26 years in the industry.
She said 2021 featured a perfect storm of prices going up and 鈥渁ctivity level through the roof.鈥� But she said 2022 is very different.
鈥淭here鈥檚 definitely a slowdown, but I would call it more of a return to normalcy,鈥� Felenstein said. 鈥淭his is not a crash, it鈥檚 not a bubble; the demand is still there.鈥�
She said the slowdown is perfect for buyers who have grown tired of being outbid amid the or for those feeling what she called 鈥渂uyer fatigue.鈥�
鈥淭hey can rest up knowing that inventory levels are going up, they have more to choose from and they don鈥檛 have to turn on a dime as they were having to a couple months ago,鈥� Felenstein said.
黑料吃瓜网 has four months of supply, according to the 黑料吃瓜网 Association of Realtors. That鈥檚 real estate-speak for how long it would take the existing supply of houses on the market to sell.
Six months of supply is normal. And while 黑料吃瓜网 is not quite there, she said the state has recovered from the low numbers seen last year.
鈥淚n the spring, many of our towns were talking in weeks of supply. At one point Darien [had] three weeks鈥� supply, Felenstein said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 just unheard of.鈥�
Housing stock has improved, but prices remain high
While interest rates above 5% aren鈥檛 making the situation any more appealing, Felenstein advises potential buyers not to take themselves out of the market.
鈥淚 think you have to take a long-range look at owning, so even if you buy something now and the interest rates are in the five or sixes, the likelihood is that your income is going to go up the longer that you live there and interest rates are likely to go down, and you can refinance,鈥� she said.
The median sales price in 黑料吃瓜网 for a single-family home was , while the National Association of Realtors recorded a national median sales price . And other experts agree that for a couple of years.
All while the housing affordability index 鈥� the lowest since June 2006, when it fell to 100.5. When the affordability index falls, that means homeownership is becoming difficult to attain.
The index, tracked by the National Association of Realtors, measures whether an average family earns enough to qualify for a mortgage with a 20% down payment. An index well above 100 means a family has more than enough income to afford a home. Prior to the pandemic, the average index for 2019 was 159.7.
Still, first-time homebuyers have some opportunities for assistance.
A new income-eligible program, administered by the 黑料吃瓜网 Housing Finance Authority and the state Department of Housing, is offering forgivable loans for down payments and closing costs. The program, called 鈥�,鈥� is geared toward helping low- to moderate-income families buy a home that might seem out of reach.
鈥淭here are resources out there. The program gives you a down payment in order to purchase, and it goes between $25,000 to $50,000,鈥� Felenstein said.
