Let's start from the beginning. It was a slow start. Listings seemed to be staying on the market for weeks at a time, and we were in somewhat of a normal real estate environment again.

Then, BAM! All of a sudden a switch flipped out of left field. Mid-March listings went back to something similar to March of 2022. Multiple showings all weekend long, multiple offers coming in above list price and with no cotingencies.

What else could possibly happen in March that would effect the housing market? The failure of Silicon Valley Bank as well as a couple other regional banks having difficulties added fuel to the fire. This made rates interest rates dip a little right up until the Federal Reserve decided to adjust rates higher to combat inflation.

In Richmond, VA we had 46 less listings in February of 2023 than we did in February of 2022.

Sometime in April we will have the official numbers for March, but before then it would be negligent of me to not talk about how we got to where we are today.

I read a statistic recently that 90 percent of homeowners today have an interest rate lower than today's current national average. 90%! Long story short, unless a major life change (having to move cities for work, getting married, having kids, etc.) happens, everyone is staying in their current home for the most part. This is what is further enhancing our "inventory shortage". If you were to be on the hunt for a home right now, and you currently owned a home that you can stay in for the next 5 years at a 3 percent interest rate, would you be roaming around looking for that same home a neighborhood over when it could be a 1/3 more expensive than your current home? Probably not.

However, life still happens regardless of what an interest rate affords you. Some common examples are:

-People get married, and if one or both of them owned before then they need to sell. And if neither of them owned before, there is a good chance they want to purchase a home soon after getting married.

-Remember that newly married couple? They also have kids within a year or two of getting married. Adding new members to the family means needing to find more space!

-Moving cities or jobs. If you own a home in Chicago and take a job in Richmond, chances are you do not want to make that commute on a daily basis. Even with rates being on the higher side, Richmond is more affordable than a lot of other cities across the country. That, coupled with our amazing restaurants and awesome culture, has drawn in buyers from not only Northern Virginia but from across the entire country.

I am sure we can come up with several more examples, but these are the ones I find most common.

So you are probably asking yourself, how do you get a good deal in this market Gary? What are you advising people to do? My answer is simple. If you are finding yourself in a situation where you MUST move, similar to the scenarios above, then you need to make that move. There is an emotional toll on having to make that long drive to work, or not having enough space for your newborn baby! If your current living situation is making your everyday life inconvenient, that is a problem. You have to take care of yourself first, and that all starts with having a home or a roof over your head that allows you to be your best self.

From a financial standpoint, I always advise everyone to take a look at their estimated monthly payments and make a decision from there. If you are able to comfortably afford that payment, it is not a bad idea to purchase a home. If that monthly payment scares you, then now might not be the time to make that move. Which is okay! We can still talk about what you can do now to get you where you want to be!

One final thing I want to touch on in regard to being able to afford a home is what is currently happening in the rental market. I have spoken with numerous renters who have come to me and said that their rents have gone up by as much as 15% in one year. In some situations that has been a $400 monthly increase in rent. That is not okay. If you are in a position to put a small down payment on a home or condo that is similar to what fits your current living situation, then we need to talk! Especially if the monthly payments are relatively the same as your current rent!

Continuing down the road of not having equity in a home while paying someone else to have a roof over your head is only going to set you back that much more. One of my biggest regrets in life is not purchasing a home sooner than I did.

So, getting back to the title of the article here, are April showers going to bring May flowers to the Richmond, VA market? We will have to wait and see. I have a feeling that if rates remain the same, we will still see a very similar market to what we have today. The demand for homes is extremely high, especially with rents going up like we mentioned earlier. But there are still ways to win in this market, and that is where teaming up with a real estate professional that has been navigating these waters over the last few years is going to be critical to your success purchasing a home.

If you have any questions about anything mentioned above, please feel free to reach out. I love talking about real estate, and I love helping everyone that is generous enough to let me guide them through the process.

Follow this link to find out more about the Richmond, VA Real Estate Market https://garymartinrealtor.com/.

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