One clear obstacle to selling your Carmel home has been the recent history of growing mortgage interest rates. Back when rates were touching historic lows, even Carmel homeowners who’d been perfectly satisfied with their existing loan’s monthly payments found it irresistible to refi them. Why not? The resulting payments were lower, even when the final payoff date remained the same. Then the rates dived even further, and some Carmel homeowners profited from refinancing once more.
Then, as the inevitable came to pass, bringing rates more in line with the historic averages, refinancing became a thing of the past. Since the new rate offers would result in a costly cash flow rise, it put the brakes on the refi industry—and also created a new issue.
Suddenly, now the normal progression of a typical household’s housing footprint—expanding the size and quality of the family residence—was more likely to strain household finances. Although the current Carmel property’s value had risen astronomically so that selling would result in a sizable profit, so too had the price of the ‘next step up’ house. Beyond that, the higher mortgage rates were bound to create cash flow strains that would not have existed a year earlier.
The result of all of this has been to exacerbate the existing national inventory shortage. More current homeowners are opting to stay put (even if they’d prefer to move). That means that fewer homes are on the market—causing price averages to inch up and buyers to have to continue to compete for the properties that are available.
It’s expected that if and when mortgage rates retreat, more buyers will be encouraged to return. New home builders will be encouraged to increase their output as well. Those rates are determined by a host of surrounding factors—ups and downs that are more of the moving parts that affect our Carmel real estate market.
No matter at what point in the resulting mix Carmel home sellers and buyers decide to investigate further, hiring the right Carmel Realtor® will assure that the most advantageous current opportunities don’t pass unnoticed. You’re invited to start exploring with a timely phone call to our office!
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