on January 13, 2023
The last two years have been a wild ride in the housing market. So much so, that many Buyers decided to step out of line and press pause on their dream of homeownership. Have you delayed your plans to buy a house because of how competitive the market has been the past few years? If so, you may be happy to know, today’s housing market is looking different from even just a few months ago. There are three trends we are seeing that have become beneficial to buyers.
Trend number one: more homes to choose from. Since the same time last year, the number of active homes for sale is up about 40%. Here in Yamhill County during the last quarter of 2021 we had an average of 147 homes active on the market each month. The same time period in 2022 we averaged 270 homes actively for sale each month. So, finding what you’re looking for today may provide more options.
Trend number two: the bidding wars have eased. In just one year, the nationwide average of offers on a home dropped from three-point-seven to two-point-four. Here in Yamhill County, I remember buyers being one of 10 or 14 offers on a home. In the last year my experience has seen 1-3 offers on homes with my clients. This means it is likely you may face less intense competition with other buyers now.
Trend number three is a large change: you have more negotiation power. The percentage of sellers willing to negotiate with buyers on things like lower prices, assisting with closing costs, helping to buy the buyers rate down or consider home repairs has greatly increased. In fact in the last 4 sales I closed in the last quarter of the year, representing 2 buyers and 2 sellers, each of these transactions had at least one, if not all three of these negotiations recognized for closing.
With these three trends, the current market is giving buyers something to get excited about again. If you’re ready to kick off the homebuying process, or even just curious to compare then versus now, let’s talk.