03/20/2025
A record amount of people planning to buy a home in 2025. Kind of crazy, right?
According to The Harris Poll, 15% of Americans are planning to buy a home in the next 12 months.
Why would this possibly be the case at 6.65% interest rates? This is over 2x higher than the 30 yr average in mid-2021.
I think the thing think about here is ๐ต๐ช๐ฎ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ.
In 2023-2024, there were just over 4M home sales, while a normal year is over 5M. It may not sound like much but 20% of normal transactions decided to ๐ฑ๐ฐ๐ด๐ต๐ฑ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฆ, essentially. Hoping for more moderate rates? Hoping for more options / inventory? Hoping to see X result in the election? I'd think so...
The reality is, since 2023, it's been a relatively easier market for a buyer to navigate. More below-asking offers accepted, more rate buy-down concessions, more wiggle room. The perception was "it's a bad time to buy a home," when in reality it was possible to get better deals at lower prices.
Now, in 2025, people have decided that 6.65% interest is good enough. It's fine. Folks are ๐ซ๐ถ๐ด๐ต ๐ฅ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฆ waiting.
I have no big insight to give you here, other than framing up what I have noticed at a high-level the past few years. It's been an interesting time to navigate as a relatively young, newer real estate professional.
All I can say is, I'm also ready for a change. Hello 2025!