It comes as no surprise that the pandemic's impact on almost every consumer market in existence continues to resonate universally. The SoCal real estate market still seems to be gasping for the much desired proverbial breather, still suffering from COVID-19 realated blows. The prices of homes have dropped drastically due to a continually decreasing number of property sales. This has been the first noted decreased number of sales in the SoCal real estate market in years. We can credit this mainly to rising mortgage rates.
Rated Sky High
The increase in mortgage rates have weighed tremendously on the market leaving some home seekers unable to afford anything in this present climate. The average price of a home has declined 6% since May 2022. This has been the largest decline since 2012. Fixed mortgage interest rates continue to rise drastically with figures projected to be at, 6.6% next year in 2023, in contrast to 5.2% in 2022 and 3.0% in 2021, according to CBSLA.
"More homes for sale and higher financing costs have led to increased days on market." - (Matthew Gardner, Market Update)
Ushering in Lemonade
Nothing lasts forever. Times of 'plentiful bounty' are not infinite nor shall be the times of hardship. Yes, the event of the pandemic outbreak came on swift and caught us completely off guard. However, it too, eventually subsided, for the most part. Life seems to be relentlessly rolling out the lemons from all different directions. So, let us continue churning those bad boys into the sweetest, most delicious lemonade possible. As we usher in the new year of 2023, keep your hopes and your heads held higher than those ever increasing mortgage rates. Keep them raised until the interest rates grow weary and have no choice but to plummet back down into the realm of reasonably manageable, where they most certainly belong!
