Buying and selling a home this year was as easy as it was to list the home. The houses went up on the market, the bids came in within hours and before you knew it another home was sold. Why is that? This past year and a half haven’t been easy, with COVID-19 causing people to get sick, lose their lives and face unemployment, so why? Why were homes sold more this year, 2021, than any year previously? The answer is simple, the mortgage rates were lower.
In the previous years, such as 2018 and 2019, the mortgage rates were at an average rate of 4.25% and a high rate of around 5.34%. With the rates as high as they were, realistically people weren’t buying and selling homes as frequently as they are today. In the previous year’s people also weren’t able to sell their homes for over asking price and if they did, buyers were able to offer less with a greater chance of it being accepted.
Today, with the rates around 2.99%, people have been selling their homes at a higher price from what the home is worth, and buyers have still been offering over asking price. There has not been much room to offer less or exact price, but regardless of whether it was over or not the housing market has been non-stop and quick to sell.
Average days on the market in 2019: 38 days
Average days on the market in 2020: 21 days
Average days on the market in 2021: 17 days
So, what does this mean for the months to come? Well, mortgage rates are not expected to go down any time soon with the percentages of mortgage rates spiking up around .07% quickly over the last few weeks. Within the next few months and next year the mortgage rates look to go up frequently and is looking to be in the low to mid 3% rates. With the rates going up, now, is the time to buy, sell and refinance.