Falling Mortgage Rates Are Bringing Buyers Back

<article class="post-1200315 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry" id="post-1200315"><span class="entry-date">September 19, 2024</span><div class="entry-header center-block text-center"><h1 class="entry-title">Falling Mortgage Rates Are Bringing Buyers Back</h1><div class="shareBlock"><div class="shareTitle">Share</div><div class="shareIcons"><a aria-label="Twitter Share Link" class="twitter solid display-inline-block" data-tracking="Post,Social Post Link Clicked,Twitter" href="http://twitter.com/share?text=Falling+Mortgage+Rates+Are+Bringing+Buyers+Back&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fgilliggroup.com%2Fblog%2Ffalling-mortgage-rates-are-bringing-buyers-back%2F" target="_blank"><span class="force-hidden">Twitter</span></a>
<div class="fb-share-button display-inline-block" data-href="https://gilliggroup.com/blog/falling-mortgage-rates-are-bringing-buyers-back/" data-layout="" data-size=""><a class="facebook solid fb-xfbml-parse-ignore" data-tracking="Post,Social Post Link Clicked,Twitter" href="https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fgilliggroup.com%2Fblog%2Ffalling-mortgage-rates-are-bringing-buyers-back%2F&amp;src=sdkpreparse" target="_blank"><span class="force-hidden">Facebook</span></a></div>
<a class="pinterest solid display-inline-block" count-layout="horizontal" href="https://pinterest.com/pin/create/link/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fgilliggroup.com%2Fblog%2Ffalling-mortgage-rates-are-bringing-buyers-back%2F&amp;description=Falling+Mortgage+Rates+Are+Bringing+Buyers+Back" target="_blank"><span class="force-hidden">Pinterest</span></a>
<a class="linkedin solid display-inline-block" href="https://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&amp;url=https://gilliggroup.com/blog/falling-mortgage-rates-are-bringing-buyers-back/?shareSlug%3Dfalling-mortgage-rates-are-bringing-buyers-back" target="_blank"><span class="force-hidden">LinkedIn</span></a>
<a class="email dashicons dashicons-email solid display-inline-block" href="mailto:?subject=From gilliggroup.com: Falling Mortgage Rates Are Bringing Buyers Back&amp;body=Falling Mortgage Rates Are Bringing Buyers Back%0D%0Dhttps://gilliggroup.com/blog/falling-mortgage-rates-are-bringing-buyers-back/" target="_blank"><span class="force-hidden">Email</span></a>
</div></div><div class="post-tax post-category"><span></span><a href="../category/realtor-blog/index.html" rel="tag">Realtor Blog</a></div><div class="post-tax post-post_tag"></div></div><div class="entry-content"><div><img alt="Falling Mortgage Rates Are Bringing Buyers Back Simplifying The Market" decoding="async" loading="lazy" src="https://files.keepingcurrentmatters.com/KeepingCurrentMatters/content/images/20240918/20240919-Falling-Mortgage-Rates-Are-Bringing-Buyers-Back-original.png" style="display: block; margin-bottom: 5px; clear: both; max-width: 100%;" width=""/>
<p>If you’ve been hesitant to <a href="https://www.simplifyingthemarket.com/2024/08/30/how-to-avoid-todays-top-seller-mistakes/?a=712984-fa409495d5d70154d03a25e81e9540e2" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">list your house</a> because you’re worried no one’s buying, here’s your sign it may be time to talk with an agent.</p>
<p>After months of high rates keeping buyers on the sidelines, things are starting to shift. Rates are already coming down due to a number of economic factors. And yesterday the <em>Federal Reserve</em> cut the Federal Funds Rate for the first time since they began raising that rate in <a href="https://www.federalreserve.gov/monetarypolicy/fomccalendars.htm" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">March 2022</a>. And while they don’t control mortgage rates, this sets the stage for mortgage rates to fall even further than they already have – especially since more cuts from the Fed are expected into next year. And lower <a href="https://www.simplifyingthemarket.com/2024/08/26/what-mortgage-rate-are-you-waiting-for/?a=712984-fa409495d5d70154d03a25e81e9540e2" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">mortgage rates</a> are bringing more buyers back into the market. Lisa Sturtevant, Chief Economist at <em>Bright MLS</em>, says:</p>
<blockquote><p><em>“A drop in the cost of borrowing will help fuel more homebuyer demand . . . Falling rates will also bring more sellers into the market.”</em></p></blockquote>
<p>The best part? You can <a href="https://www.simplifyingthemarket.com/2024/09/03/should-you-sell-now-the-lifestyle-factors-that-could-tip-the-scale/?a=712984-fa409495d5d70154d03a25e81e9540e2" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">take advantage</a> of that renewed buyer interest.</p>
<h4><strong>As Rates Fall, Buyer Activity Goes Up</strong></h4>
<p>The <a href="https://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/data/mortgage-applications" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">graph below</a> illustrates the relationship between falling mortgage rates and rising buyer activity. The orange line represents the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate, while the blue line shows the <em>Mortgage Bankers Association</em> (MBA) <em>Mortgage Application Index</em>, which tracks the number of mortgage applications.</p>
<p>As you can see, as mortgage rates (<em>orange</em>) come down, the <em>Mortgage Application Index</em> (<em>blue</em>) rises, showing more people start to re-engage in the process (<em>see graph below</em>):</p>
<h4><strong><img decoding="async" src="https://files.keepingcurrentmatters.com/KeepingCurrentMatters/content/images/20240918/20240919-Mortgage-Demand-Rises-When-Rates-Fall-original.png"/>What This Means for You</strong></h4>
<p>According to the <a href="https://www.nar.realtor/research-and-statistics/housing-statistics/existing-home-sales" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>National Association of Realtors</em></a> (NAR), home sales increased in July, which was a welcome shift after four straight months of declines. If you’re a homeowner thinking about selling, this uptick in buyer activity works in your favor.</p>
<p>More buyers means more competition, which can lead to higher offers and shorter time on the market for your house. And, according to Edward Seiler, AVP of Housing Economics at the <em>Mortgage Bankers Association</em> (MBA), this trend is expected to continue:</p>
<blockquote><p><em>“MBA is expecting that slower home-price appreciation, coupled with lower rates, will ease affordability constraints and </em><strong><em>lead to increased activity in the housing market</em></strong><em>.”</em></p></blockquote>
<p>All in all, the market is becoming more accessible to a wider range of buyers, which could result in even more people looking to purchase a house like yours.</p>
<p>With more buyers entering the market, now’s the time to start getting your house ready <a href="https://www.simplifyingthemarket.com/2024/08/21/the-number-one-mistake-sellers-are-making-overpricing-their-house/?a=712984-fa409495d5d70154d03a25e81e9540e2" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">to sell</a>.</p>
<h3>Bottom Line</h3>
<p>The recent decline in mortgage rates is already driving more buyers into the market, and experts project this trend will continue. Work with a local <a href="https://www.simplifyingthemarket.com/2024/08/20/how-to-choose-a-great-local-real-estate-agent/?a=712984-fa409495d5d70154d03a25e81e9540e2" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">real estate agent</a> to take advantage of this increased buyer demand and get your house ready to sell.</p>
</div>
</div></article>