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This Month: Mardi Gras and Your Spring Checklist
For the month of February, I've selected a few articles for you on decluttering, organizing, and spring cleaning. I always find that when I take the time to do this early in the year, it sets the rest of my year just right.
Also, I feel such a sense of accomplishment in having an organized, clutter- free, and sparkling clean home!
I also feature a few articles on entertaining for one of our favorite times of the year: Mardi Gras. From party ideas to entertaining, I think you'll find everything you need.
On the Real Estate Front
With 2023 being regarded as the year with the slowest home sales in almost 30 years, we continue to observe strong economic indicators forecasting a positive year ahead for the real estate market.
First, there was last month's expectations that given the improvements in the economy, mortgage rates will start to come down and hopefully settle around 5%. With this, it is mutually expected that more sellers will enter the marketplace, thereby increasing inventory for buyers.
As we have already seen some evidence with interest dropping from 8% to rates in the 6% range, in a recent interview, Lawrence Yun, the Chief Economist of the National Association of Realtors had this to say about it:
"Mortgage rates are meaningfully lower as compared to just two months ago, and more inventory is expected to appear in the market in upcoming months"
However it is also important to consider that though interest rates have come down and will continue to do so, the supply side is still a challenge as new homes are not being built fast enough to meet demand.
Therefore I like to tell my clients that if you find a house you love, don't hesitate. The time to buy [and list] is now!
If you decide to enter the market as a buyer, we can help you find your forever home and negotiate the best terms for you. And if you decide to list, we love helping you prepare your house and work with you from this stage until we successfully negotiate contractual details with your home's buyers, and then meet up with everyone on closing day! Just give us a call if we can help with either of these transactions or both.
MARKET HIGHLIGHTS
Below, please find national real estate housing data and infographics from the National Association of Realtors. Keep reading to view the summary for the Louisiana market and in particular, St. Tammany and Tangipahoa Parishes.
We think you'll be most interested in what is happening here, but it helps to be aware of national market trends.
Please keep in mind that on the national level, data lags one month behind.
National Snapshot for the month of December
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Pending Sales - increased 8.3% month over month [while in the regional South they increased by 11.9%]
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Existing Home Sales - decreased by 1.0% - month over month
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Home Prices - increased 4.4% - year over year
Present Challenges:
- Affordability
- Inventory Shortages
- Insurance Rates
- Interest Rates
The month of December continues to trend toward a Sellers Market with 3.2 months of Inventory.
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