By Mike Bodeen · 12 September 2022
My wife and I recently returned from a family getaway to the west side of Wyoming (Afton), having spent nearly a week on 3000+ acres of pristine ranch property, 4 wheeling, wildlife site-seeing, and eating waaaay too much great food. It was awesome. But it’s great to be home.
Several weeks ago, I reported that we were arriving at a balanced market based on the Cromford Market Index (CMI). We also mentioned at that time, that the market slowdown, which had been dramatically dropping, was slowing into balanced territory.
“…when lower inflation drives down mortgage rates, buyer floodgates will re-open, increasing competition and again driving prices north.”
If you observe the September 5th chart of the CMI below, you’ll view this slowdown and leveling out from its peak in March.
So what does this mean for our current market?
Buyers should take advantage of this window of opportunity to be on the lookout for their next home. Competition is down. Multiple offers are no longer as numerous, and many (wise) sellers will negotiate with buyers.
But this could change. We are currently around 6% for mortgage rates. They may rise some more if inflation persists, but at some unknown point in time when lower inflation drives down mortgage rates, buyer floodgates will re-open, increasing competition and again driving prices north.
Why? Because Phoenix, Arizona remains in full growth mode. And if that’s the case, which it is, then buyer pent-up demand is again forming.
You heard it here first.
Market data referenced in this article comes from The Cromford Report.