Is Now a Good Time to Move?
How long have you lived in your current home? If it’s been a while, you may be thinking about moving. According to the latestProfile of Home Buyers and Sellersby theNational Association of Realtors(NAR), in 2019, homeowners were living in their homes for an average of 10 years. That’s a long time to be in one place, considering the average length of time homeowners used to stay put hovered closer to6 years.
With today’s changinghomebuyer needs, especially given how the current health crisis has altered our daily lifestyles, many homeowners are reconsidering where they’re at and thinking about moving to a home with more space for their families. Here’s why it might be a great time to make that happen.
The real estate market has changed in many ways over the past 10 years, and current homeowners are earning muchmore equity todaythan they used to have. According toCoreLogic, in the first quarter of 2020 alone, the average homeowner gained approximately$9,600in equity.If you’re considering selling your house right now, you may have accumulated more equity to put toward a move than you realize.
Dialing back 10 years, many homeowners also locked in a fairly low mortgage rate. In 2010, the average rate was only 4.09%. This motivated homeowners to stay in their houses longer than usual to keep their rate low, rather than moving. Just last Thursday, however, average mortgage rates hit anew historic low at 2.86%.Sam Khater,Chief EconomistatFreddie Macexplains:
“Mortgage rates have hitanother record lowdue to a late summer slowdown in the economic recovery…These low rates have ignited robust purchase demand activity, which is up twenty-five percent from a year ago and has been growing at double digit rates for four consecutive months.”
Ten years ago, we couldn’t have imagined a mortgage rate under 3%. Looking at the math today, making a move into a new home and locking in a significantly lower rate than you have now could save you greatly on a monthly basis, and over the life of your loan(See chart below):As the example shows, you can save a substantial amount every month if you qualify for today’s low mortgage rate, and the savings can really add up over the life of a 30-year fixed-rate loan.
Bottom Line
As a homeowner, you have a huge opportunity to move up right now. Whether you want to save more each month or get more home for your money based on your family’s changing needs, it’s a great time to connect to discuss the market in our area.Buyersare actively looking for more homes to buy, and you can win big by making a move if the time is right for you.
[/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section]