For the first time in a while mortgage rates have started to come down since the Fed has stopped raising interest rates. From October to December 2023 the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage has fallen from about 8% to 7.1%.
The median house price is about $440,000 and with a 20% down payment at an 8% mortgage rate, a monthly payment would be $2582, without taxes and insurance. If the rate goes down to 7%, the payment falls to $2309 monthly, and at 6% the payment is only $2071 per month.
The lack of inventory is due to the fact that current homeowners aren’t selling to upgrade or move to the mountains because of the higher interest rates. An obvious solution would be for more houses and apartments to be built but that can be time-consuming and expensive.
We’ll have to see what the rest of 2024 brings but initially rates are slightly decreasing.