An expert opinion on our real estate market as we head toward spring.

What’s going on with the market as we head toward spring? To help answer this question, I am here with Matt Stancato of Guild Mortgage. It’s an exciting time in the real estate market, and things are shifting, so it’s important to stay up to date.

Now that the Super Bowl is over, we are in the very early part of the spring market, which is the beginning of what is generally the busiest time of the year in real estate. However, interest rates have been volatile recently, and they’re in a bit of a holding pattern. Everyone is waiting to see what the Fed does with rates to combat inflation and unemployment.

We don’t know for sure what the future holds for interest rates—the Fed could decide that they’ve done enough and start a gradual reduction, or they could decide that more is needed, and rates could continue to climb. Matt says he guesses rates will get a little bit higher before tensions start to ease in the late summer or early fall.

“We are at the beginning of the busiest time of the year in real estate.”

If rates do continue to go up, how can a buyer still win in this market? Well, one piece of advice that Matt offers is to remember to date the financing and marry the house. He says that it’s always a good time to buy if you need a house, so just know there are ways you can combat higher rates.

Matt’s office offers a few techniques, the biggest one being a 2-1 buydown. This allows the seller to fund an escrow amount to supplement the buyer’s payments for the first two years. With this program, it will feel as though the buyer’s payment is 2% lower the first year, 1% lower the second year, and back to normal the third year.

During that time, if rates were to go down, Matt’s company also offers a great refinance program that would allow buyers to lower their rates with no lender fees and a rollover of the escrow account. Then all they'll pay for is the title.

Know that Matt and I both meet with people even two years in advance, so it’s never the wrong time to meet with us. We enjoy talking to clients and would love to help you make a plan that works for you! If you have any questions or want to get in touch with Matt, call or email us anytime. We look forward to hearing from you.