New changes in this Market each week!

Without question there is movement in the market. Movement in interest rates (increasing almost weekly) has begun to create waves within the housing market/mortgage market.

How? - Let's see:

• Rising rates means that fewer home buyers will qualify to buy (or at least buy what they want)
• This may ultimately have an effect on the housing inventory (fewer qualified buyers = fewer homes sold, which means more inventory available).
• Those homeowners with variable rate mortgages will experience an increase in monthly payment, causing some to go into default if they are not prepared for the additional expense - hence the number of foreclosures might increase
• The combination of foreclosed homeowners and unqualified home buyers (thanks to rising rates) will increase the volume of renters, hence creating a rental rate increase (more renters = higher rent since there is a larger pool of potential renters)
• The value of properties might decrease if, thanks to less home buyers and increased foreclosures, the volume of inventory (what is available for sale) increases

Some of the above has already started to happen. Interest rates have increased as much as 2% to homeowners in the last 90 days and as much as 3% to non-owner occupied investor financing. According to Realtor DOTcom some metros have begun experiencing decreases in property values (they list the top 10 to date). The National Association of Realtors (NAR) tells us that existing home sales dropped 2.7% in the month of March.

The movement in the market is definitely happening, the question is, are you prepared to benefit from it? Do you have yourself financially fit to capitalize on an opportunity when it arises? Do you have a financial resource to help you grab those opportunities, and is that resource going to stand ready to help you obtain your goals, or handcuff you when the market twists even more? Some lenders & banks are friends today (in a strong market) but become strangers when the market gets rocky. Now is the time to choose your financial partners wisely.