No! And I’ll tell you why. Many potential buyers have been sitting on the sidelines waiting for the market to soften, the listing and sale prices of homes to decline, and possibly see mortgage rates come down to 5%. When any of these three things happen, many buyers will rush in to buy a home. That influx of returning buyers will drive the sale prices even higher and reduce the inventory. Instead, keep looking for the location you want and a home that has great potential for you long-term. You may have to close with a mortgage that you think has an awfully high rate. Down the road, you can refinance when the mortgage rates actually do come down. In the meantime, you will have locked in the purchase price of your home and be building equity in your home. Renting costs continue to slowly rise, but it does not build any equity for you.
Many families have been in rentals for a few years now in Greenwich. Those families may also have bid on a few properties along the way. When they first came to town, there was probably a lot more inventory than we now have of rentals, single-family homes, and condominiums or co-ops, available in most price ranges. They may have even put offers in to buy some of those properties. Often, they saw that when those properties were reported as sold, it was at a surprising above-asking price. During that time, the mortgage rates were rising quickly. It may not have mattered to those who were all-cash buyers with no contingencies. Even many of the agents were surprised at some of those sale prices. Homes were being strategically priced to sell, especially if it was near a big barrier (like $2MM, or $5MM, or $10MM). The best comp was the most recent sale in the area. It was very difficult to advise buyers on what to bid. Many potential buyers got discouraged and chose to drop out of even looking to buy. They were hoping that the market would slow down. They also were afraid of over-paying for the properties they liked.
Some early buyers, who bought in early 2020 or 2021, were able to buy with low mortgage rates and now own houses worth way more than they had paid, and probably now have much higher incomes and assets. Now, to step up to their next home, we have very little inventory, higher prices, and higher mortgage interest rates. Even compared to only one year ago, the average sale price of homes has increased by 11% to $4.6MM, and the median sale price increased by 14% to $3.7MM.
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