Home sales are in full swing! May reports show the highest number of home sales since the Homebuyer Tax Credit spike in 2009. If you’re considering selling your home anywhere in the county, it is still a great time to sell. Specific to the South, sales are up almost 7% May 2014 to May 2015 and the median sales price is $198,300, up over 8% from 2014. Below are several contributing factors to the great home sale numbers- a few of which should continue to boost home sale numbers in the months and years to come.
First time homebuyers are back!
According to an article in Mortgage Daily News, first time homebuyers now account for more than 32% of home sales, the highest share for first time buyers since 2012 and 5% higher than May last year. First time home buying is being enable and encouraged by still historically low interest rates and many changes to lending criteria which make it easier to qualify and buy a home.
Boomerang homebuyers are making their mark.
Boomerang buyer is the name given to some 8 million or more Americans who lost their homes to foreclosure during the housing bust in the early 2000’s and are now becoming home owners again. Depending on whether their homes were sold via short sale or foreclosure, the waiting period to repair the damaged credit is typically between 4 to 7 years. According to CNBC, approximately 2.2 million people will be positioned to qualify for home loans and become home owners again in the next 5 years.
Low interest rates continue to encourage home buyers.
Mortgage rates are near June lows with 30 year conventional loans hovering around 4% for best case scenarios.
High rental rates push people to buy.
This can be a double edged sword. High rental rates for some people have caused a barrier to buying because it makes it very difficult to save money for home buying down payments. But for others, the choice between paying high rents or paying a lower cost mortgage makes an easy case for home buying. Even if the homes are not building as much equity each year as they have in years past, it can still mean saving money to not rent. Atlanta, along with other large metropolis have rental rates that are increasing much faster than the national average.
No matter how you look at it, there are many positive signs that real progress is being made in true recovery of the housing market. If you have been waiting for the home values to increase and the market to recover before making a move to buy or sell, this could be a great time to take a closer look. Contact us for a free home value analysis and general discussion about your specific home and future plans.
