We’re living through historic times and it’s impacted everything. The housing market is no exception so I’m sharing the 3 biggest changes I’ve noticed in the housing market in the past 18 months.
Mortgage Rates
Working on a contract. Photo by: Lauren Carnes
Mortgage rates fell a lot in 2020, we’re talking historic lows! Naturally, people rushed to refinance their homes and to start looking into buying a home. Let me show you an example from a Vox article about how much money this can save a buyer over time:
“Let’s say you bought a $300,000 house before Covid-19 hit the US. If you locked in a 3.73 percent mortgage rate, you’d end up paying $498,940 over 30 years. If you bought it in 2020 at the low of 2.67 percent, you’d pay $436,337, a savings of more than $60,000.”
Because of this, many people who weren’t even in the market to buy knew they couldn’t pass up this opportunity and started looking!
Leaving City Centers
Atlanta skyline. Photo by: Ibuki Tsubo via Unsplash
Low-interest rates led people to buy instead of renting. During the pandemic, people realized they could work remotely and didn’t have to live where they worked. People started moving outside of the city because there wasn’t as much of a benefit. You don’t need to live within walking (or a short bus/train ride) away from the office when there isn’t an office to go into. Also, when things were shutting down, there was much less to do in cities–museums, restaurants, bars, and theatres were closed so people started thinking about alternate ways to spend their time and moved out of the city.
Packing a moving truck in NYC. Photo by: Robinson Greig via After so many companies went to remote work in March of 2020, companies and employees realized that people don’t necessarily need to be in the office every day. Some companies have switched to a hybrid work model with some days in the office and some days working from home. Others have switched to full remote work. These changes have allowed people to relocate to different cities and even different states because (as stated above) they don’t have to live near their offices anymore.
The front porch of my home. Photo by: Lauren Carnes
While so much has changed in everyone’s lives, having a place you own to call home is one of the greatest feelings and something I can help you with! Let me know if you want to take advantage of these historically low-interest rates and move to the ‘burbs!
What have you noticed about the housing market where you are? Anything major that I missed? Let me know, cheers to a happy week!
