Our real estate market isn’t just influenced by buyers and sellers. It’s influenced by the economy, too.
Today’s topic is something that’s near and dear to my heart: The economics of real estate and the real estate market.
Back in August 2018, when interest rates started to climb, we saw about a 1% interest rate hike in the fourth quarter of 2018. That really slowed the real estate market down.
Heading into the first few months of 2019, we also had more snow in the Des Moines metro than we had seen in a long time, which further kept buyers out of the market. Additionally, there was a government shutdown that prevented a lot of first-time homebuyers from getting their tax returns and being able to buy.
We had a slower start to the year in 2019 than we’ve seen in years. We typically see about 65% of our yearly sales between January and June, but that was not the case this year. As a result, we’re having a bit stronger fall than I had anticipated.
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It takes an experienced Realtor to understand the nuances of different markets.
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With that said, we have more inventory today than we have had in a long time. There are over 4,000 active homes on the market, and there have been about 12,350 sales this year, compared to over 14,000 last year.
In today’s market, some areas and price points are in a seller’s market, while others are in a buyer’s market. It takes an experienced Realtor to understand those. If you need assistance in buying or selling a home now or in 2020, don’t hesitate to reach out and give us a call or send us an email. We would love to hear from you.