There is always more than one way to look at something. For example, today is the winter equinox, which means the first full day of winter. Some might bemoan the fact that winter is just starting and the cold has set in for the next three months. I on the on the other hand prefer to celebrate the fact that we start gaining more daylight each and every day all the way into summer, starting today!
Existing Home Sales, which tracks closings on homes that are over a year old, rose 0.7% last month and 15.4% from this time last year. We are now on pace this year to see the most sales in almost ten years at 5.61M transactions. Available homes for sale though are declining; listings are down 9.3% from this time last year. There are currently only 1.84M homes available for sale across the country, representing a four month supply (that’s NAR’s math, not mine). Declining inventory continues to push sales prices higher: the Median Home Price rose 6.8% this year to $234,900. Utah’s forecasted appreciation for 2017 is at 4.6%. The consensus is that higher interest rates will make appreciation tighter going forward, as 88% of home buyers obtain financing to consummate their purchase. That means that as a lender, I have a shot at participating in 88% of all transactions out there. That glass just became more full!
