Good News for Homebuyers in the Current Housing Market

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

New Opportunities for Homebuyers: What You Need to Know About the Current Housing Market

If you’re a prospective homebuyer, we have some good news for you. The housing market is showing signs of relief, with lower mortgage rates and new opportunities for homeownership. For those who have been waiting for the right time to make a move, now may be the perfect opportunity to secure a home at more affordable financing terms.

This year, home buyers are in a better position than they have been in recent years, thanks to a combination of favorable market conditions and improving economic factors. In this article, we’ll explore how you can take advantage of these positive shifts, from historically low mortgage rates to tips for finding your dream home in 2025.

Key Takeaways:

• 2025 offers lower mortgage rates, making it a great time to buy a home or refinance.
• More housing inventory means more choices and less competition, giving buyers an edge in negotiations.
• Home prices are stabilizing, allowing for better deals and less bidding wars compared to previous years.
• Improving your credit score before applying for a mortgage can help you secure the best financing terms.
• Working with an experienced realtor can make the home-buying process smoother and faster, especially in a competitive market.

Why Now is a Good Time to Buy a Home

2025 brings a unique combination of factors that make it an ideal year for buying a home. Whether you’re a first-time homebuyer or looking to move up the property ladder, here are some key reasons why 2025 could be the year to act:

1. Lower Mortgage Rates
Mortgage rates have dropped significantly, making homeownership more affordable for many buyers. The rates are at some of the lowest levels seen since 2022, which means you can lock in lower monthly payments and save money over the life of your loan. Lower rates can make it easier to afford a larger home, a better location, or just reduce your monthly budget.

2. A More Balanced Housing Market
The housing market is slowly becoming more balanced after a period of high demand and rising prices. In 2025, homebuyers will find more inventory available, and while home prices may still rise in certain areas, they are expected to be more stable. This gives buyers more room to negotiate prices and potentially avoid bidding wars. 

3. Increased Housing Inventory
After years of low inventory, the supply of homes for sale is improving. More homes are coming onto the market, particularly in suburban and urban areas where there is high demand. This increase in available homes means you won’t have to settle for the first property you find. With more options to choose from, you can take your time and find the home that best suits your needs and budget.

4. Favorable Economic Conditions
The broader economy is showing signs of stability, with inflation rates under control and steady growth in job markets. As the economy stabilizes, more people are confident in making long-term financial commitments, including purchasing homes. For homebuyers, this economic stability means fewer surprises down the road and more predictable mortgage payments.

How Homebuyers Can Make the Most of Today’s Market Conditions

While 2025 is shaping up to be a great year for homebuyers, it’s essential to know how to navigate the market effectively to secure the best deal. Here are some practical tips to help you take advantage of the current housing landscape:

1. Lock in a Low Mortgage Rate Early
With mortgage rates still low, now is the time to secure the best possible rate. Shopping around for different lenders, comparing mortgage products, and locking in your rate as soon as possible can help you take full advantage of these favorable conditions. Even a slight difference in rates can result in substantial savings over the life of your loan.

2. Consider Your Financing Options
There are many mortgage options available, from conventional loans to FHA and VA loans. Depending on your financial situation, you may qualify for a government-backed loan that offers lower down payment requirements or more lenient credit score standards. It’s important to explore all your financing options to find the one that works best for your needs.

3. Improve Your Credit Score Before Buying
The better your credit score, the better your mortgage rate will be. Even if you are ready to buy, it’s worth taking a few months to improve your credit score before you apply for a mortgage. Paying down credit card debt, checking for errors on your credit report, and avoiding new large purchases can help boost your credit score and increase your chances of securing a low rate.

4. Work with an Experienced Realtor
A qualified realtor can be your best asset in a competitive market. They can help you find homes that fit your criteria, negotiate on your behalf, and guide you through the buying process. A realtor with local market knowledge can give you an edge in finding homes that might not be widely advertised and help you navigate potential bidding wars.

5. Be Ready to Act Fast
With more inventory becoming available, buyers have more choices than before. However, in a market with low mortgage rates, properties can move quickly. Being prepared with your financing in place and knowing what you want can help you make swift decisions when the right home comes along.

Key Trends for Home Buyers

• Mortgage rates are at record lows, making now the perfect time to buy.
• More homes are available on the market, increasing inventory and giving you more options to choose from.
• Home prices are stabilizing, giving buyers the chance to negotiate and avoid bidding wars.
• The economy is stabilizing, offering predictability for long-term homeownership.

Is Now the Right Time to Buy a Home?

For many homebuyers, 2025 is shaping up to be an ideal time to purchase a home. With lower mortgage rates, a more balanced housing market, and improving economic conditions, the next year presents an exciting opportunity for buyers to enter the housing market. Whether you’re buying your first home or upgrading to a new property, now is the time to explore your options and lock in favorable financing terms.

 

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Better Affordability Brings More Buyers

 The first quarter of 2023 saw 56% of prospective home buyers actively in the process of purchasing a home. This is up from the fourth quarter of 2022 at 46%. This is due to the improved affordability expectations.

With the improved affordability, buyer demand is up as well as the competition. Unfortunately, this leads to potential buyers having a harder time finding the home of their dreams. In fact, 71% have spent 3+ months searching for a new home which was up from the 65% reported in the fourth quarter of 2022.

As for each region, the number of prospective buyers actively looking for a home rose in every region in the first quarter of 2023. The Northeast went from 50% to 63%, Midwest from 42% to 45%, the South from 47% to 51% and the West from 44% to 66%.

These results are derived from the Housing Trends Report (HTR). This report is produced by the National Association of Home Builders’ Economics team. The team measures prospective home buyers’ perceptions about the affordability and availability of homes for sale in their market. The Housing Trends Report runs every quarter to track changes in buyer’s perceptions over time.

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Builder Confidence in St. Tammany Parish

For 30 years, the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and Wells Fargo has been measuring builder confidence based on 3 factors of new home building – current new home sales, projected new home sales, & new home buyer traffic.  The survey is called the Housing Market Index (HMI), and builders nationwide are selected and surveyed by the NAHB each month.  The result is a gauge of how confident builders are in the housing market and the future of the housing market.  Post Recession, these numbers stayed low for many months, even years, but in the past 2.5 years, builder confidence has been up.

Nowhere is that more evident in our own backyard than at Bedico Creek Preserve, a master planned, Conservation Community in Madisonville, Louisiana, in St. Tammany Parish.  Builder confidence in St. Tammany Parish is definitely up in our community.  We have had a record high amount of 18 builders all building new homes in our subdivision at one time.  Currently, we have a list of 16 qualified and quality new home builders that offer lots to be built, as well as new homes for sale in the 9 available neighborhoods within our new home community in Southeast Louisiana.

Two of our Neighborhoods focus solely on the new homes built by exclusive builders that have purchased the lots in the neighborhoods to build established floorplans to maintain an inventory of new spec homes for sale.  These two neighborhoods are Cypress Crossing and Deer Park.  Other builders have individual Homes for Sale that are located throughout the other 7 Neighborhoods.
Builder confidence nationwide in January had a score of 60.  Any score above 50 is considered optimism from new home builders.  Broken down, the builder confidence rating scored as follows: current sales conditions rose two points to 67, projected sales conditions dropped three points to 63, and current buyer traffic came in at 44.  In St. Tammany Parish, the new homes at Bedico Creek have been selling as fast as builders have been framing them.  Many of our new homes for sale are available on our website for just weeks before they are under contract.  If you are interested in living at our new home subdivision, you may want to meet with one of our 16 builders to discuss purchasing a lot in your selected Neighborhood and then building a new home for you and your family.

Contact Us Today to Make an Appointment to View Our Lots at 985-845-4200 or E-mail Info@LiveBedico.com.

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Housing Finance System to Get a Boost from Ginnie Mae

Federal Home Loan Banks (FHLBanks) are an important component of the housing finance system and were sanctioned by Congress to meet the credit needs of communities everywhere in all economic cycles by providing liquidity for mortgage lending. There are 11 regional FHLBanks which supply low-cost funding to upwards of 7,400 members that include community banks, credit unions, insurance companies and community development financial institutions throughout the United States. The Mortgage Partnership Finance (MPF) programs provide FHLBanks’ members resources to sell their mortgages to secondary market agencies which allow community banks to compete with mortgage loans and competitive pricing. These institutions in turn can provide housing finance for low rates to future homebuyers, better lending standards and community investment opportunities to the local markets.  This program will be a great benefit to departments such as the Department of Rural Development Loans which is committed to the future of rural communities – the role of which is to increase rural residents’ economic opportunities and improve their quality of life.

The FHLBanks have teamed up with Government National Mortgage Association (Ginnie Mae) and created a program that will lend a helping hand to improve liquidity in the mortgage markets, provide more competitive pricing for consumers and increase credit availability. MPF issued its first $5 million security guaranteed by Ginnie Mae which is made up of a mix of loans.  It includes over 50% in the RHS category, a majority of VA loans and the remainder FHA loans. The Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago and Ginnie Mae already have a program set in place that helps FHLBank members to sell their Federal Housing Administration (FHA), Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), and Rural Housing Services (RHS) loans into Ginnie Mae securities.

“This is an important milestone for the MPF program,” said Matt Feldman, president of the FLHBank of Chicago. “Ginnies are among the most liquid financial instruments in the world, and this new product allows us to enable FHLBank members to offer competitive FHA, VA and Government Guaranteed Native American and Rural Housing mortgages.”  Ginnie Mae President Ted Tozer said.
“Now they can connect directly to the capital markets, improving the home financing options they can offer to their customers without the burden of having to individually obtain and maintain Ginnie Mae approval,” he added. Now local community banks and local lenders can compete with national large banks and pass the savings and improved home loan financing options to their consumers.

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More Homes Are Being Built to Supplement the Housing Inventory Shortage

A shortage in homes and a strong job market in the Greater New Orleans area definitely strengthened the housing market, especially in new home construction and the advent of new subdivisions. Solid hiring in the job market, low mortgage rates and easier credit conditions have driven the demand for new home buyers to purchase a new home for sale. The Greater New Orleans area alone represents 20% of the new jobs that have been created this year in the state of Louisiana which has led to the strong home sales on both the north shore and the south shore.

West St. Tammany Parish has seen a decrease in housing inventory making the average sales price increase.  The housing market in general is leaning more towards a seller’s market because of the lack of supply of homes for sale.  This lack of inventory in homes priced from $190,000 – $300,000 is causing a bidding war pulling the average sales price for metro New Orleans up by 7.8% from $197,300 to $212,610. New Orleans has seen an increase from 21,954 homes sold annually in 2010 to 30,322 in 2014. Homeowners are starting to realize that this is the time to sell, and for home builders now is the time to build new homes for sale in St. Tammany Parish on the northshore.

On the flip side, home buyers will not have long to wait because more homes are being built which means the inventory problem will start to correct itself. According to Richard Haase, president of NAI/Latter & Blum, who reported at the UNO/Latter & Blum Economic Outlook & Real Estate Forecast Seminar for the Northshore Region, which was held at the Clarion Inn & Suites Conference Center in Covington, ”There’s a lot of pent-up demand,” he said, because tight lending standards have kept potential buyers out of the homebuying market, even as the economy recovered. ”For the next one or two years, I’m extremely optimistic about housing prices and housing affordability,” Haase said. ”We’re in a very healthy supply-and-demand market.”

Bedico Creek Preserve in Madisonville, Louisiana, offers new homes for sale that could plug the dearth of homes priced from $190,000 – $300,000.  Two neighborhoods being built in this master planned community in St. Tammany Parish offer new homes for sale from the $230’s – $300’s. 

These two neighborhoods are called Cypress Crossing and Deer Park.  Also, if you purchase one of our lots for sale in the Garden / Courtyard section of this St. Tammany Parish subdivision, you can build a home starting from the $290’s.  For more information about our homes for sale, Contact Bedico Creek at 985-845-4200 or E-mail Info@LiveBedico.com.

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