Homebuyers and sellers are getting an early start to the spring housing market.
Between 2015 and 2018, April was the hottest month of the year on Realtor.com, but January was the hottest in several markets across the country last year, according to a report by NBC.
Mortgage rates have fallen a full percentage point since October 2018 to around 3.7 percent, so there could be a repeat of last year. Low interest rates are bringing more buyers to the market.
“There’s even some talk that [interest rates] might go a little bit lower,” said Corey Burr of Washington D.C.-area’s TTR Sotheby’s International Realty. “But if I were a buyer right now, I’d be very satisfied with a 30-year mortgage at three and a half percent.”
Markets around the nation’s largest metros, including the Bay Area, Boston, and Washington, D.C. are among the most competitive in the country. Activity around the nation’s capital has been particularly strong since Amazon announced it would open a campus in Crystal City in late 2018.
The national market overall however is less competitive than it’s been in recent years. Only 12 percent of offers on Redfin faced bidding wars last year, compared to 48 percent in 2018 and 53 percent in 2017. [NBC] — Dennis Lynch