Market Update ... Last 7 Days in Pinellas County!

WOW! Biggest turn out yet! Thank you all for coming out with us Saturday. Mark your calendars for next year, same place, same time!

The competition was fierce in our 5th annual chili cook off and client appreciation event. We had 11 different chilis competing for your vote for the BEST Chili in Seminole, 2022. We had Daniel Childs with us LIVE on music, tons of chili, pumpkin pie, giveaways, 50/50 raffle for Kind Mouse, and a GREAT TIME!

Congratulations to our very own Don Van Lehn! His chili was voted BEST in Seminole!

More than 7,000 children in Pinellas County live with chronic hunger and more than 36,000 live every day with food insecurities.

Kind Mouse feeds children who have nothing outside of school.

Kind Mouse is our local charity of choice for our events!

This past year, rising mortgage rates have slowed the red-hot housing market. Over the past nine months, we’ve seen fewer homes sold than the previous month as home price growth has slowed. All of this is due to the fact that the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate has doubled this year, severely limiting homebuying power for consumers. And, this month, the average rate for financing a home briefly rose over 7% before coming back down into the high 6% range. But we’re starting to see a hint of what mortgage interest rates could look like next year.

Inflation Is the Enemy of Long-Term Interest Rates

As long as inflation is high, we’ll see higher mortgage rates. Over the past couple of weeks, we’ve seen indications that inflation may be cooling, giving us a glimpse into what may happen in the future. The mortgage market is eagerly awaiting positive news on inflation. As Ali Wolf, Chief Economist at Zonda, says:

“The housing market is expected to face continued uncertainty heading into 2023 as consumers, financial markets, and policymakers work through their respective challenges in today’s economy. . . . we are watching for any additional stability in the MBS market, signs of cooling inflation, and/or less aggressive Federal Reserve action to give us confidence that mortgage rates are past their peak.”

What Does This Mean for the Future of Mortgage Rates?

As we get through the inflation battle and start to see that coming down, we should expect mortgage rates to follow. We’ve seen nods of this over the past couple of weeks. As the Federal Reserve works to bring inflation down, mortgage rates will come down as well. Bill McBride from Calculated Risk says:

“My current view is inflation will ease quicker than the Fed currently expects.”

As we look toward next year, we certainly hope he’s right.

Bottom Line

Mortgage rates will come down – it’s just a matter of time. The hope is we continue to see more positive news on inflation, and that’ll bring mortgage rates down. This will give prospective homebuyers more buying power and lead to more homeowners throughout the country.

*Source - Keeping Current Matters

Today’s mortgage interest rates are well below the highest annual average rate recorded by Freddie Mac — 16.63% in 1981. A year before the COVID-19 pandemic upended economies across the world, the average interest rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage for 2019 was 3.94%. The average rate for 2021 was 2.96%, the lowest annual average in 30 years.

Whether you are local or just visiting, There is always something happening around the Bay Area. Check it out!