Maricel Pazos Realtor

08/20/2025

09/11/2024

The Best Time To Buy a Home in 2024 Is Nearly Here—and Can Save You $14K

Many homebuyers sat out the usually busy summer market, likely put off by high mortgage rates, stubborn list prices, and slim pickings.

Yet things are looking up—way up—for buyers as fall rolls in.

According to a new Realtor.com® report, the best time to buy a home in 2024 is still to come—and soon: the week of Sept. 29–Oct. 5.

“With all of the challenges facing buyers as the housing market continues its journey to a healthy condition, this week boasts the culmination of market factors that favor buying over every other week of the year,” says Realtor.com Chief Economist Danielle Hale.

During these seven days, buyers can expect to save more than $14,000 compared with the summer peak on a median-priced home of $445,000.

“By early October, home prices have fallen from their summer peak and buyers can take advantage,” says Hannah Jones, senior economic research analyst for Realtor.com.

Besides keeping thousands of dollars in the bank, buyers who’ve faced scant housing stock for years now will have more homes to choose from. Historical trends suggest that during the best week to buy, there will be 14% more listings than the average week, or 37% more compared with the start of the year.

To determine the Best Week To Buy, Realtor.com looked at a variety of housing metrics, including list prices, inventory levels, new listings, days on the market, homebuyer demand, and price reductions in 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, and 2023. (2020 was excluded due to the COVID-19 pandemic anomalies.) Realtor.com also analyzed weekly housing data in 2024.

The mortgage rate wild card
Even better, the high mortgage rates that kept the summer market sluggish might drop before the best week to buy, creating an even friendlier housing market environment for buyers.

Mortgage rates recently fell to a low not seen in more than a year. For the week ending Sept. 5, the rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage was 6.35%, according to Freddie Mac.

In more good news, the Federal Reserve has signaled its intention to lower its rates by mid-September, and economists predict mortgage rates might fall further as a result. (While the Fed doesn’t set mortgage rates, Fed rates and mortgage rates tend to move in the same direction.)

In a recent Realtor.com midyear housing forecast update, year-end mortgage rate expectations were revised to 6.3%.

“Potential mortgage rate improvement could greatly impact how much it costs to buy a home this fall,” says Hale. “Recent mortgage rate improvements could be a light at the end of the tunnel for buyers.”

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The fall advantage: Less competition
Buyers can think of the best week to buy as a real estate reset in many ways.

Chalk this buying window up to a seasonal slowdown, which includes buyers who have already moved over the summer, cooling weather, and back-to-school business.

All this adds up to a big advantage for buyers ready to forgo apple picking for home shopping.

Most buyers purchase a home in early spring and summer, which leaves more breathing room for those shopping during the fall.(Getty Images)
“Homebuyers shopping during the best week should expect less competition from other buyers,” says Hale. Early spring and summer draw the most “buyers looking to lock down a home.”

Come fall, many of those buyers have found homes, leaving more breathing room for buyers shopping during the end of September and early October.

“Historically, during the Best Week To Buy, demand is 29.5% lower than the peak and 14.0% lower than the average week,” says Hale.

But there is one caveat: If mortgage rates fall, more buyers could hit the market than is typical seasonally.

“However, assuming for-sale inventory grows at the expected rate, there may be enough homes on the market to soak up heightened demand,” says Hale.

09/01/2024

🍂 Welcoming the Charm of September 🍁
Hello September, you're finally here, and with your arrival comes a breath of fresh air and a sense of anticipation. As we bid farewell to the warmth of summer, we open our hearts to the beauty and charm that you bring. 🌼🍃With the turning of your calendar page, we embark on a new journey—one filled with cozy moments, vibrant colors, and the promise of change.
As the leaves begin to don their autumnal hues, we're reminded of the beauty in letting go and embracing transformation. 🍂🍃

08/30/2024

New Review
4967 Mouie Lane, St. James City, Lee County, FL, 33956

Very polite
Maricel has good response time and follows thru.

Posted by Tony & Tammy (Buyer) on
29 Aug 2024

08/24/2024

Places Where Lower Mortgage Rates Will ‘Unlock’ the Housing Market the Fastest By Keith Griffith
Aug 20, 2024
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For several years, high mortgage rates have frozen much of the housing market, with many homeowners who were locked in at prior lower rates remaining unwilling to sell and assume a new, more costly mortgage.

Now, as rates begin falling, a new Realtor.com® analysis shows the metro areas that could see the earliest signs of thawing in the form of increased seller and refinance activity.

Those markets have the highest share of recent home sales when rates averaged over 6.5%. Those homeowners are now “unlocked” and in a position to refinance, or sell and buy a new home at a lower rate, after average rates dipped below 6.5% this month for the first time in more than a year.

Leading the list is Naples, FL, where 15.2% of mortgages are estimated to be above the 6.5% cutoff, compared with the national average of just 5.3% of all mortgages.

Other Florida metros in the top 10 include Miami and Cape Coral. St. Louis placed second, with 13.9% of owner-occupied homes now unlocked by lower rates. Other cities on the list vary widely in geography and affordability, and include Fort Wayne, IN; Albuquerque, NM; Kansas City, MO; and New Haven, CT.

The Realtor.com economic research team projects mortgage rates will fall to 6.3% by the end of this year, as the Federal Reserve begins cutting its benchmark rate. If that scenario plays out as expected, the cities we’ve identified could be among the first to benefit.

“From this point forward, assuming rates continue to ease, selling or refinancing may look increasingly attractive to many homeowners in these markets,” says Realtor.com senior data analyst Hannah Jones. “Homeowners who have felt ‘locked in’ by mortgage rates are likely to feel increasingly eager to sell as rates improve.”

However, Jones notes that, for the time being, the marginal benefit of selling might be too small for recent buyers, and they may opt to refinance instead.

By definition, the cities identified by Realtor.com all have one thing in common: an unusually large share of their homes have been purchased fairly recently, when average rates exceeded 6.5%.

Many of the cities have seen significant recent population growth, including Naples, Cape Coral, Fort Myers, and Myrtle Beach.

High demand from homebuyers has driven explosive growth in home prices in those areas. In Naples, for instance, home prices grew 69% from 2020 to 2023, according to federal data.

Now, there are signs that the markets in question are moving back toward balance between buyers and sellers, a situation that could improve further as mortgage rates fall.

“Inventory climbed annually in July in each of these markets, which may have spurred recent sales, despite still-high mortgage rates,” says Jones. “This means that buyers in these markets stand to enjoy ample home options even today, and can take advantage of falling rates.”

To estimate the cities with the highest share of existing mortgages that are now unlocked, we used data from deed records and Optimal Blue to analyze the number of home sales in each metro area during months since 2020 when local mortgage rates averaged more than 6.5%.

Those transactions are expressed as a share of the metro’s total number of owner-occupied housing units, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, to estimate the share of local mortgages above the 6.5% threshold.

08/19/2024

The home buying process might seem a little complicated if you haven't gone through it before. However, if you're working with someone who's got experience helping people with their real estate needs, it can actually be a lot easier than you think!
We've been helping homebuyers actualize their dreams for years. We can speed up your home search, help arrange the financing, work with you to negotiate a good deal and make sure everything's signed, sealed and delivered on the closing date.
So please call or email us any time if you're interested in finding out more about becoming a homeowner.
Maricel Pazos
239-826-6453
[email protected]

08/15/2024

The high mortgage rates that have paralyzed America’s housing market are falling—and could nosedive further by the end of the year.

Rates for a 30-year fixed mortgage plunged to 6.47%—the lowest in over a year—for the week ending Aug. 8, according to Freddie Mac.

And with inflation losing steam and the economy cooling, expectations are high that the Federal Reserve could make not just one, but two rate cuts by the end of this year.

As a result, Realtor.com® senior economist Ralph McLaughlin expects mortgage rates to drop further in September and December, which is “encouraging news for potential homebuyers who have been waiting to participate in the market.”

This is also encouraging news for homeowners who might be thinking of selling. Is it time to finally list their property on the market? And if they do, what should they expect?

To help shed some light on what’s coming down the pike for home sellers, here’s what real estate experts predict will happen to the housing market once rates take the plunge.

The ‘lock-in effect’ will ease—and homeowners will start selling
A recent Realtor.com analysis found that 86% of homeowners have mortgage rates below 6%. Understandably, many feel “locked in,” unwilling to trade in their low rate for today’s higher ones if they sell and buy again.

“Home sellers have been sitting on the sidelines, not wanting to give up their COVID-era interest rates,” says Tan Tunador, vice president and senior loan officer with Atlantic Coast Mortgage.

But once rates drop further, that could change.

“The faster rates drop, the less homeowners will be held in place and we could see both new inventory and more sales,” says Danielle Hale, chief economist of Realtor.com.

“There are a significant number of sellers that couldn’t stomach—right or wrong—going from a 4% rate to a 7.5% rate,” says Mason Whitehead, a Dallas-based branch manager for Churchill Mortgage. “But they can stomach going from 4% to something in the 5% to 6% range.”

The faster rates drop, the less homeowners will be held in place, which can lead to both new inventory and more sales.(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
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More homebuyers will enter the market
In the same vein that sellers have felt frozen in place, buyers have felt iced out of the market. But if mortgage rates continue to decline, then experts predict more buyers who’ve been on the sidelines finally jump into the market.

“When rates drop, I think you will see pent-up demand hit the market again,” says Whitehead.

Some buyers, like sellers, shelved their house hunt because they felt the payment was too high, but a lower rate makes home shopping more affordable.

“For some that didn’t qualify at 7.5%, they will qualify at 6%,” says Whitehead. “So you have more people able to buy as well.”

In other words, once rates fall, the market will see both more sellers willing to sell, and buyers willing and able to buy.

Sales will come on fast and strong
Any seller thinking of listing would be wise to start prepping right now.

“Mortgage rates have been improving, and they are bringing potential buyers out early, many of whom gave up on buying, either because of the low housing inventory or the higher rate environment the past few years,” says Tunador. “For sellers, listing their house early may give them the opportunity to sell before their competition hits the market.”

Other experts agree: There are definitely signs homebuying activity is beginning to bounce off the mat.

“Mortgage applications have perked up, and refinancing activity also looks to be picking up as rates go lower and owners carrying elevated mortgage rates seek to reduce their monthly payments,” says Charlie Dougherty, director and senior economist at Wells Fargo.

“All told, mortgage applications remain low, but the recent upturn is a promising sign that buying activity is starting to heat up and defrost a housing market frozen by higher interest rates,” adds Dougherty.

And if mortgage rates continue to shift south, things might get even toastier.

“When mortgage rates [stay in] a sub-6.5% average, we will really see the housing inventory increase and sales activity boom,” says Tunador.

Home prices will likely remain high
The good news for sellers is that even as the market gets moving, home prices are expected to remain high, or dip only slightly.

“Sellers will continue to be in a historically strong position, as the U.S. housing market is still short millions of homes,” says Dan Hnatkovskyy, co-founder and CEO of NewHomesMate. “Assuming there isn’t a severe recession, we will likely see only modest price decreases in most markets in 2024.”

However, Hnatkovskyy says that formerly hot markets like Denver, Austin, TX, and Phoenix may see a more significant drop in housing prices as smaller investor money sits on the sidelines for most of 2024. But in general, experts don’t see home prices taking a major dive as interest rates start to descend.

Even so, it will be smart for sellers not to get too cocky with their home pricing.

Once rates fall, the market will see both more sellers willing to sell, and buyers willing and able to buy.(Getty Images)
“Sellers may benefit from realistic pricing and encouraging buyer competition,” says Cassandra Happe, an analyst for WalletHub. “Working with a real estate agent to price strategically and enhancing online presence with 3D tours can maximize the chances of a quick and profitable sale.”

In other words, sellers shouldn’t set their hopes price too high lest they price themselves out of the market.

“Housing affordability will likely remain strained given still-high mortgage rates and the rapid run-up in home prices over the past three years,” says Dougherty. A shaky economy could “keep the pace of home sales relatively tepid.”

Multiple offers may make a comeback
The increase in competition among buyers might mean that sellers once again find themselves in the enviable position of being able to choose from several offers for their homes.

“Sellers will be in luck when mortgage rates start to drop: They’ll have multiple offers to consider and have some extra leverage when negotiating,” predicts Bryson Taggart, senior agent partnership manager for Open door. “For example, sellers receiving multiple offers can drive up the price of their home or waive contingencies for an easier close and a more convenient timeline.”

Still, sellers need to remember that the highest offer isn’t always the best offer.

“I advise sellers to evaluate offer terms holistically and select the one that aligns best with their wants and needs,” says Taggart.

For some, that could be an offer from a more qualified buyer or a cash buyer, which provides less of a risk for fall-throughs. If a seller is planning to also purchase a home, they should pick a buyer with favorable terms for an efficient close.

07/28/2024

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