So far the hottest sales activity in our local market is in the move-up market. Homes priced int he $750k-$1M price range are selling well and sometimes even seeing multiple offers. Meanwhile at the normally hot entry level inventory is creeping up and the number of qualified buyers remains tight. It remains a sellers market even at the bottom, but it's close to neutral.
The lower end of the market range is still suffering from sticker shock with the higher lending rates. Although rates remain very average at the moment, that long extended period of below average rates definitely spoiled buyers. Many that qualified at 5% simply do not at 7%.
In the higher tiers buyers often are less sensitive to rates than those first starting out. It is also common for move-up buyers to have a large downpayment that makes the actual borrowed amount in some cases less than they borrowed to buy the starter house.
So buyers looking to move-up it might be a little tight finding the house you really want and for those trying to sell a starter home, offering a buy-down for the buyer might be the difference between selling and sitting in the market. Marketing times for median priced homes is around 45-60 days right now.
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