Things could be looking up for homebuyers, local real estate agent says
By Jazmine Knight
With interest rates dropping from 7.5% to the 6% range, the housing market is giving more power to buyers.
This in a way eliminates the buyer’s off-season altogether.
Lorrie Ramseier, president of the Ramseier Group at Keller Williams, said since COVID-19, homebuying has skyrocketed due to low inventory.
“It used to be that winter was a little bit slower and it can still be, you know, December, January be a little bit slower, but it’s not that much slower lately,” she said.
Ramseier said before the housing market had less competition because there were more houses available. However, there’s been a bit of stabilization in the last few months.
“That’s good for buyers because they were having to compete and do bidding wars and things like that for several years now,” Ramseier said. “So, we are seeing it be a little bit easier on buyers.”
Comparing August of this year from August of last year, closed sales are up almost 15%. Average sales are up about 7% and inventory is down a little over 9%, according to a local market update of Buchanan County and St. Joseph shared by Ramseier.
This has made finding a home significantly harder for first-time homebuyers.
“They may have to wait a little bit longer and save a little bit more for their down payment,” she said.
When it comes to buying, Ramseier sits down with her clients to create a strategy since it’s a sellers market.
“We sit down, make sure that they have their pre-approval and they’re ready to go and go through the whole process so they know what to expect each step of the way,” Ramseier said.
For sellers, there’s really no bad time to sell. Many think waiting until spring or the warmer months will increase their chances, but truth is anytime is a good time.
“Everybody has to move at different times for different reasons, you know, jobs or things like that. So there’s always an opportunity,” said Ramseier.
Nevertheless when you do find the perfect home, Ramseier has a little celebration waiting for you on the other side. She likes to make sure all her clients are loved.
“We like to bring pizza over, you know, right after they close and so they don’t have to worry about cooking one tonight and we have a lot of different things,” she said.
