MARCHing toward a Vaccine Spring, Los Angeles prepares to open up more than it has since the Pandemic descended upon all of us 1 year ago this month. My vaccination joins that of many realtor colleagues I know, all of us being safe with our personal health and the concern for health safety of our client.
Our market may experience a noticeable shift with early March announcements of rising mortgage rates now above 3%, --highest in 7 months, and sputtering Stock Market prices, dropping 1000 points in past 2 weeks alone, as of this writing. Is the home rally slowing? Possibly. We need more data to determine, but I would encourage Sellers to tune their prices carefully to this market moment.
For Buyers, I have a similar encouragement to get off the fence and find that house! If you’re waiting on Sellers to drop their price, you won’t benefit from their discount nearly enough if compared to a rising mortgage rate. The mortgage rate controls more of your cost than any discount a Seller could provide. Secure a mortgage at this historic low point, which has already crept up almost 1% since its lowest mark.
I preach to my team the merits of “We are linked, not ranked”, and tend to shrug off realtor awards because so many agents brag on social media and it becomes annoying how many “Number Ones” there are. Fact is-- realtor networks link good agents across this City and create value for their clients. That’s why being linked is more important than being ranked. Even so, I congratulate my team for being named one of the most productive in all the United States during 2020. It was well earned and our clients benefitted. We are honored, but not sitting on any laurels, we are here to serve!
-Ernie
