Buyers hesitate as housing affordability declines

On account of affordability, 86% of people in a Fannie Mae survey recently said that it’s a bad time to buy a house.

“While many respondents expressed optimism at the beginning of the year that mortgage rates would decline, that simply hasn’t happened, and current sentiment reflects pent-up frustration with the overall lack of purchase affordability. This is most clearly evidenced by our ‘good time to buy’ component falling to a new survey low this month,” Doug Duncan, Fannie Mae senior vice president and chief economist, said in the report.

As of Thursday, Freddie Mac reported a 6.86% 30-year fixed mortgage rate, the lowest it’s been since the beginning of April this year. Rates are expected to lower into the summer months with hopes that more people will enter the market.

“Homeowners’ perception of home-selling conditions declined only slightly and remains largely positive after a steady increase over the last few months. This suggests to us that, despite the so-called ‘lock-in effect,’ some homeowners may increasingly want or need to sell their homes for a myriad of non-financial reasons, which may lead to an increase in listings in the near future,” Duncan added.

Yet people still move for many reasons: a new job, better education, better living affordability, etc.

The United States Census Bureau recorded moving stats from last November and found that nearly 8.2 million people moved between state lines in 2022.

“Inmigration rates — the number of people moving into a state as a share of that state’s total number of movers — were higher than the national state-to-state migration rate of 19.9% for states concentrated in the South and West,” whereas “Outmigration rates — the number of people moving out of a state as a share of that state’s total number of movers — tended to be higher than the national state-to-state migration rate for states in the Northeast and West,” the bureau reported.

How to attract buyers to your home

Because the housing market is not quite in the seller’s favor, experts encourage creative methods for getting a home sold and off the market as quickly as possible.

Most home sales are preowned homes (87%) compared to new builds (13%), so agents advise having the home cleaned and renovated ahead of time so there are no antique surprises like popcorn ceilings or old carpets.

When a home is move-in ready, buyers know what to expect of their new home. “They don’t want to dedicate the time or resources to update a home in need of a new kitchen or major bathroom upgrades,” according to Redfin . “When a house is move-in ready, there’s typically less maintenance issues and unexpected costs to worry about.”

Whether you have your own or contact a buyer’s agent, an experienced agent could help increase the chance of selling sooner — a home that’s been on the market a long time can be a red flag to potential buyers.

“Networking with agents can significantly increase your home’s visibility and attract serious buyers,” per Clever Real Estate . “Once you’ve made contact in person, provide the buyer’s agents with a printed or emailed document detailing your home’s key features, including its size, location, and asking price.”

Having a real estate agent who can lead you through the home-selling process and take charge of crafting your listing description is the route many people take, as “89% of buyers recently purchased their home through a real estate agent or broker, and 6% purchased directly through the previous owner,” according to the National Association of Realtors . On top of that, “90% of buyers would use their agent again or recommend their agent to others.”