What are the predictions for the housing market in 2024? This past year has been a tough market. Buyers were struggling to buy and sellers did not want to sell with interest rates at 20 year highs. 2023 was a real estate year that we would like to put in the rear view mirror. What will the predictions for the housing market be for 2024?

Getting better?

Will 2024 be the years that the housing market gets better? The answer to that question is sort of, according to the realtor.com 2024 forecast. (http://realtor.com/housingforecast). One good thing that the report does point out is that things are not looking worse for buyers who have been struggling with affordability. The market is expected to stabilize, but will remain a bit challenging.

Interest rates

The realtor.com annual forecast predicts that home priced will remain high and that mortgage interest rates will not move much. Current interest rates are hovering around 7% and realtor.com believes that they will stabilize around 6.8% to 6.9%. That is certainly better than the peak that was reached in 2023 of 8%, but no where near as low as we saw in 2021. Those low rates look to be a thing of the past, a wonderful memory!

Inventory storage continues

The housing storage may be the biggest challenge of 2024. Sellers that have a low interest rate on their home loan cannot afford to move. This means fewer homes on the market. Those sellers that do list their homes for sale and purchase new ones generally have to do so because of a change in family situation, divorce or relocation.

The bright spot is that builders are continuing to build and hopefully will continue to offer great buy-downs for buyers interested in new construction. This is good news in the market.

With interest rates predicted to remain steady and prices also predicted to remain steady, it does not appear that 2024 will be the year that the real estate market gets the jolt that it desperately needs. Call Lestel to make sure you know what is happening in the market and how it affects you!