Since the beginning of the year, we’ve reported record low housing inventory for the greater Seattle area, which has driven the price of homes up and resulted in a pretty solid seller’s market. We are getting reports now from our mortgage experts that rates are on the rise, which will most likely pour more buyers into the market who are concerned about getting in before the hike. As a result, competition for homes may soon be at unprecedented highs.
The moral of the story is that if you were ever considering selling your Seattle home, the time is now. According to our listing specialist, Susan Shorett, “There has never been a better time to sell your home.” If your home is priced correctly, and is turn-key ready, you can expect multiple offers within several days.
Rates are reacting to to the April release payroll report. In this report, the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed 279,00 net new jobs created last month. In total, 5.7 million jobs have been added to the U.S. economy since 2012, and the extra payrolls appear to be spiking retail sales figures. Retails sales account for a large percentage of consumer spending, which is among the largest components of the U.S. economy.
Housing is another important cog in the economic machine and the housing marketing turned in another strong reading last week. Both homebuilder confidence and housing starts performed well, adding to Wall Street optimism.
Since the beginning of the month, market sentiment has shifted away from the mortgage bond market, in general, causing mortgage rates to rise and reducing the purchasing power of today’s home buyers.
From the trading floor:
Look for stock movement to heavily influence bond trading and mortgage rates. Stock gains will probably pressure bonds and cause mortgage rates to move higher. Tomorrow there are three events that could affect mortgage rates: April’s Existing Home Sales report, Fed Chairman Bernake’s appearance in front of the Joint Economic Committee of Congress, and the release of the minutes from the last Federal Open Market Committee Meeting (FOMC)
Stay tuned!
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