In early December, the Northwest Multiple Listing Service (NWMLS) press release indicated that home buyers in our region are feeling less pressure and more options amidst lending limit increases and softening home price growth.
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Right now, the 10-year treasury bond is jumping up. With the rise in the 10-year bump, consumers will most likely see another rise in mortgage rates. That is because most loans are sold on the secondary market and they share the same demographic as the investors who buy bonds. So, when one goes up, lenders have to increase interest rates so they can sell the loan to investors who are willing to take on a bit more risk. Interest rates on a 30-year fixed rate mortgage are around 4.625%, which is still relatively low on an historic scale.
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Though the Seattle-area real estate market has decidedly been in favor of sellers for the past couple of years, buyers felt a bit of relief in July, as inventory increased for the third consecutive month. As Puget Sound Business Journal reports, the median sales price for July 2018 was up just 5-percent on a year-over-year basis, a stark decline from the 18-percent surge from the spring sales season. The root cause comes down to inventory, as there were just over 5,000 homes and condominiums available for sale last month, marking “a remarkable 48 percent more than July 2017.” After three months of inventory gains, supply is now higher than it’s been since early 2015.
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