Another Month, Another Average Market? Here’s What That Means
When I sat down this week to review the end-of-month data and look at what kind of trends, expected or not, might show up, I wasn’t surprised to see that Central Oregon had a pretty average month of activity.
The most talked-about event that could have made a difference was the Federal Reserve’s cut to the Fed Funds Rate. But as I mentioned in last month’s newsletter, the mortgage market had already reacted to that back in early August. Once the cut was officially announced, mortgage rates actually ticked back up slightly. Now they’re hovering in the low 6 percent range. That’s still a historically attractive rate, and you’d think it might be enough to get more buyers off the fence. But it didn’t.
So what do we take away from an average month? I think there are a few key things to point out.
Affordability is not going to improve overnight. This is going to be a slow process. If you're a buyer who doesn’t want to wait years to make a move, success comes down to understanding the financing strategies available to lower your monthly payment. The buyers winning in today’s market are the ones using the tools that work.
It’s still a tough time to sell a home. Jefferson and Crook County remain solidly in buyer’s market territory. Nearly every major market in the region, other than Redmond, is in the same category. For sellers, that means preparation, pricing, and patience are more important than ever.
Inventory is declining, but not just because homes are selling. Buyer activity is still present and that is helping reduce inventory. But new listings have dropped significantly since June, and we’ve also seen a noticeable rise in cancelled and expired listings. Many sellers are stepping back and planning to try again later.
With last week’s news of a possible government shutdown, the market that drives mortgage rates is still trying to figure out how to respond. That’s part of the reason we saw rates stay flat all last week. Unless something major or unexpected happens soon, I think we are headed into another steady and fairly average October.
