Hope Leitner, Realtor®, CRS

  It’s easy to get caught up in the idea of waiting for the perfect moment to make your move – especially in today’s market. Maybe you’re holding out and hoping mortgage rates will drop, or that home  prices  will fall. But here’s what you need to realize: trying to  time the market  rarely works. And here’s why. There is no perfect market. No matter when you buy, there’s always some benefit and some sort of trade-off – and that’s not a bad thing. That’s just the reality of it. If you’re not sure you buy into that, think back to the last 5 years in housing. Just a few years ago, mortgage rates hit a historic low. To take advantage of that, a ton of buyers rushed to buy a home and lock in those lower rates. The side effect? With such a big increase in how many buyers were purchasing, the homes on the market were snapped up fast. And since that resulted in so few homes left for sale, bidding wars became the norm and home prices went through the roof. Those buyers ...

Trying to decide whether it makes more sense to buy a home now or wait? There’s a lot to consider, from what’s happening in the market to your changing needs. But generally speaking, aiming to time the market isn’t a good strategy – there are too many factors at play for that to even be possible. That’s why experts usually say  time in the market is better than timing the market. In other words, if you want to buy a home and you’re able to make the numbers work, doing it sooner rather than later is usually worth it.  Bankrate  explains why:  “No matter which way the real estate market is leaning, though, buying now means you can start building equity immediately.”   Here’s some data to break this down so you can really see the benefit of buying now versus later – if you’re able to. Each quarter,  Fannie Mae  releases the  Home Price Expectations Survey . It asks over one hundred economists, real estate experts, and investment and market strategist...

  Wondering what’s in store for the housing market this year? And more specifically, what it all means for you if you plan to buy or sell a home? The best way to get that information is to lean on the pros. Experts are constantly updating and revising their forecasts, so here’s the latest on two of the biggest factors expected to shape the year ahead: mortgage rates and home prices. Will Mortgage Rates Come Down? Everyone’s keeping an eye on mortgage rates and waiting for them to come down. So, the question is really: how far and how fast? The good news is they’re projected to ease a bit in 2025. But that doesn’t mean you should expect to see a return of 3-4% mortgage rates. As Lawrence Yun, Chief Economist at the  National Association of Realtors  (NAR),  says :   “Are we going to go back to 4%? Per my forecast, unfortunately, we will not. It’s more likely that we’ll go back to 6%.” And the other experts agree. They’re forecasting rates could settle in the mid-...