The upcoming homebuying season won’t be as ferocious three-peat as the last two, but prices will continue to rise as inventory is low, predicts one of Orlando’s most prominent realtors. increase.
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Keller-Williams agent Ray Lopez said the market would be defined by interest rates.
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Not only does this discourage new buyers from pouring money into a down payment, it also discourages current homeowners from upgrading their lifestyles.
“Are you going to let go of the 3% interest rate and move into a house with a 7% interest rate?” Lopez asked rhetorically.
This trend has kept Orlando’s housing inventory low. As of the week before Christmas, available housing in the area he had less than 5,000, about half of normal.
During the slow season in the market, buyers who start looking have fewer options and more competition. Lopez said buyers will avoid homes that require a lot of work but demand a premium price, unlike last season, which likely sparked a bidding war.
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Still, too many problem-free homes would fetch top dollars, he said.
“A house that looks good, smells good, and sells well,” he said. “We need to be able to hypermarket to areas like South Florida and the East Coast where people are moving here.”
For those who chose to stay on the sidelines this season in hopes of lower prices, Lopez said Florida’s inventory problems could prevent another market crash like the state experienced in 2010. said that it is possible to
He predicted that interest rates would stay high for two years as the government continued to keep inflation in check, and that if we could wait for that period, we would be rewarded with another era of affordability.
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As such, he said buying is still a better long-term play than paying big bucks for ever-increasing rent.
“There will come a time when we will get back to 4 and 5. There will be a refinancing boom,” he said. “People who are currently buying at 7% can refinance to a lower rate, or they can move and get the house they want because the price is the same.”
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