If you are looking to buy a home right now you may have noticed that they aren’t staying on the market long.
For the better part of 18 months we at Partin Real Estate have seen one of the highest demand for homes in recent memory.
If it’s a good deal, houses stay on the market for as little as two days to about two weeks.
That’s pretty quick for the Bolivar, Missouri area.
So, why are homes selling so fast?
From our perspective, there is a perfect storm that has hit the homebuying market.
Low inventory for the demand of homebuyers
Inventory in Southwest Missouri has been low for quite some time.
Now that the demand for homes to buy is the highest we’ve seen in decades, it seems like home buyers feel like they must act quickly or miss out on an opportunity to buy.
On the flip side, if you’re looking to sell your home in the Bolivar or Southwest Missouri area this is a good time to do it!
Mortgage payments becoming lower than rent
A lot of people that are buying homes right now are doing it because rent is so high. Why would you waste between $700 to $1,200 per month on rent when you can own a home?
That’s what many millennials seem to be contemplating.
The same millennials who were predicted years ago to be more prone to rent than buy are, in fact, doing the opposite.
They’ve put off purchasing homes for a while, longer than their parents did, but are now coming around on the idea.
To do so, they’re using no or low down payment options, buying smaller homes, or finding homes in the suburbs.
Cheaper homes in the $120,000 to $180,000 range are the most popular homes for homebuyers in this area.
Not as many homes being built
Because of the lumber shortage issue and cost of supplies therein, less homes are being built in Bolivar.
This seems to hold true everywhere we look in the state.
So, for some families who would normally consider buying a newly constructed home or have a custom one built, they are turning to pre-owned houses.
Lower mortgage interest rates
A good percentage rate a year or two ago was 4%. Now, we’re seeing rates sometimes under 3%.
Shaving a percentage point off of your interest rate is a big savings.
For example, on a $180,000 house you would save almost $2,000 on a one percent savings.
Just a heads up, lenders are being a little cautious because of the COVID pandemic and will sometimes ask COVID-related financial questions to assess risk.
However, you can’t argue with the trade-off of significantly lower interest rates.
How to buy a home in this market
If you are in the market to buy a home during this time, it’s obvious you will have to be ready to buy a home you like fairly quickly.
That’s not to say you should compromise on necessities. But if there’s something you can part with, it could be necessary if you need to move soon.
If you’re able to wait for your perfect home, just know that when one pops up it will likely be sold quickly.
On that same note, don’t be surprised if you can’t get much of a, if any, discount on the home that catches your eye. There will almost certainly be other offers when you submit one or more will follow.
