Hope Leitner, Realtor®, CRS

  Why Mortgage Rates Could Continue To Decline When you read about the  housing market , you’ll probably come across some information about inflation or recent decisions made by the  Federal Reserve  (the Fed). But how do those two things  impact you  and your homebuying plans? Here's what you need to know. The Federal Funds Rate Hikes Have Stalled One of the Fed’s primary goals is to lower inflation. In order to do that, they started raising the Federal Funds Rate to slow down the economy. Even though this doesn’t directly dictate what happens with  mortgage rates , it does have an impact. Recently inflation has started to cool, a signal those increases worked and are bringing inflation back down. As a result,  the Fed’s hikes  have gotten smaller and less frequent. In fact, there haven’t been any increases since July ( see graph below ): And not only has the Fed decided not to raise the Federal Funds Rate the last three times the committee met, they’ve signaled there may actually

February is the month when I feel like winter is begins to recede. The Chinese New Year, Mardi Gras and the increase in "fun runs" around the county make it feel like Spring is just around the corner.    February - Ponder this,  “What could we accomplish if we knew we could not fail?” – Eleanor Roosevelt - Something about the ambition of January resolutions makes me sad about the reality of change. February is a month of hope - if I'm still doing the thing I resolved to do, then I am stronger and better for my effort. I feel like I can't fail now!   I am here for you, your family, and your friends. Whether you own a home or you are looking to buy or sell one, I'm here to help.   If you know anyone who might be interested in receiving this event calendar every month, please have them sign up at this  link.   Your Forever Agent,    Hope Leitner, CRS, CalDRE #01874321 Hope Opens Doors  

January 23, 2024 For Buyers Pricing First Time Home Buyers Housing Market Updates Even though home prices are going up nationally, some people are still worried they might come down. In fact, a recent  survey  from  Fannie Mae  found that 24% of people think home prices will actually decline over the next 12 months. That means almost one out of every four people are dealing with that fear, and you might be, too. To help ease that concern, here's what experts forecast will happen with prices this year. Experts Project a Modest Increase Check out the latest  home price  forecasts from eight different sources ( see graph below ): The blue bar on the left means, on average,  experts  think  home prices  will go up over 2% by the end of this year – not down. Prices  aren’t likely to depreciate in 2024 because  inventory  is still tight and lower  mortgage rates  are leading to strong  buyer demand . Those two factors will keep pushing  prices  up as the year goes on. As Selma Hepp, Chie