The number of people looking to buy a home hit a record low in July. For wealthier buyers, there are deals to be had in many parts of the country.
The number of people actively looking to buy a home dropped to the lowest level on record in July, according to a new analysis from Redfin. The number of sellers dropped, too, though the number of buyers fell more.
At this point, about 80% of major metros are now considered a buyer’s market.
“There are lots of homes for sale. Most homes are selling for below their listed price, and you can negotiate better terms, like an inspection contingency or a financing contingency,” said Daryl Fairweather, chief economist at Redfin.
That’s what makes it a buyer’s market — for those who can afford to get in.
“‘Buyer’s market’ does not necessarily mean that it’s a great time for everyone to buy,” Fairweather said. “What it means is that if you decide to buy, if you look at your budget and you talk to a lender and you see that there are homes out there that meet your needs, from that point on, it should be smooth sailing.”
But there are still tons of people who can’t get to that point, who can’t find homes that meet their needs or their budget. Home prices and mortgage rates are still quite high, and Danielle Hale, chief economist at Realtor.com, said the current market tends to favor a certain kind of buyer.
”They have higher incomes, they have higher credit scores, they’re putting down larger down payments, taking on smaller mortgage balances. They’re less dissuaded by mortgage rates that remain relatively high,” she said.
Meanwhile, lots of low- and middle-income people are still dissuaded. Affordability concerns are a big factor keeping lots of would-be buyers on the sidelines chief economist at Zonda
“But there’s also just whiplash in the news,” Wolf said. ”There’s uncertainty in the economy.”
She thinks that’s the main thing that needs to change to bring more buyers back.
“I don’t think we have to have home prices drop 20% or interest rates come down to 4%,” Wolf said. “I think people need to feel that everything has stabilized, meaning interest rates are not as volatile, there’s not so much uncertainty in the economy, they feel a little bit better about their job.”
Because, Wolf said, if people don’t feel stable, they don’t want to make the biggest purchase of their lives — good deal or not.
