AFFORDABILITY IS IMPROVING

It’s probably one of the biggest questions you’re asking right now: should I buy a home

right now?

No doubt, one of the biggest catalysts impacting the slowdown in the housing market

was the rapid rise in mortgage rates. By more than doubling in a 12-month period, many

Americans were forced to put their buying or selling plans on hold because of

affordability.

The good news: affordability is improving as inflation eases and rates slowly go down.

Any drop in mortgage rates helps boost purchasing power by bringing down your

expected monthly mortgage payment. This means the lower mortgage rates experts

forecast this year could be just what clients need to reignite their homebuying goals.

WE WON’T SEE A WAVE OF FORECLOSURES

Another big topic swirling around the rumor mill is that foreclosures are on the rise.

According to the Year-End 2022 U.S. Foreclosure Market

Report from ATTOM, foreclosure filings are up 115% from 2021, but down 34%

from 2019. As media headlines grab onto this 115% increase, it’s more important than

ever to put that percentage into context.

Here’s why:

 There was a foreclosure moratorium during the pandemic

 There aren’t as many homeowners at-risk due to stricter lending standards in the

last 15 years

 Moat homeowners have more than enough equity to sell their homes, rather than

foreclose

When it comes to really explaining this to your clients, this quote says it all.

“The bottom line is there will be an increase in foreclosures over the

next year (from record low levels), but there will not be a huge wave of

distressed sales as happened following the housing bubble. The

distressed sales during the housing bust led to cascading price

declines, and that will not happen this time.”

If your clients had any doubts about a possible housing crash, this should help clear up

their confusion and shed light on the fact that the market is a lot stronger than what

clickbait-y headlines might imply.

-Keeping Current Matters