Rising mortgage rates and home prices are making sellers skeptical about listing this spring. As a result, 50% of home sellers said they would adjust sales based on year-end home price declines.
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Realtor.com’s best sales week is finally here; however, A new survey shows Market headwinds dampened homebuyer enthusiasm for the spring market.
Danielle Hale | Chief Economist, Realtor.com
Danielle Hale, chief economist at Realtor.com, said of the portal’s findings: “Many homeowners have been eagerly waiting for mortgage rates to drop so they can sell their current home and upgrade to a more affordable home. New houses.
“With mortgage rates expected to slowly fall throughout the year, some potential sellers plan to stop waiting and take action in 2024, with most looking to buy a new home while selling their existing home.”
Of 1,003 home sellers surveyed by Realtor.com, 79% said they should have sold sooner, noting they missed out on benefiting from previous cycles of stronger homebuyer activity.
As a result, the proportion of home sellers who expect to experience a bidding war (12%), receive an offer within a week (15%), and receive an offer with no contingency fees (15%) has dropped by more than 50%.
The pain from reduced seller leverage is compounded by high mortgage rates and rising home prices, making the prospect of re-entering the market as a homebuyer more difficult.
The proportion of homeowners planning to sell and buy at the same time fell 11% year over year to 73%. Among homeowners who plan to juggle a dual deal, 79% say they are still nervous about the prospect of taking out a higher interest rate loan to purchase a new home.
64% of sellers said they expect mortgage rates on new homes to be “the same or higher” than existing rates, and 81% said they are concerned about how interest rates will affect their budgets.
Half of home sellers said they would wait until interest rates dropped before listing their home (a 10% decrease from 2023), while 29% said personal circumstances forced them to sell now (a 16% increase from 2023).
Home sellers said personal finances were a core factor in their decision to sell, with 24% saying they wanted to make a profit and 21% saying they wanted to take advantage of recent price increases.
Sellers said they planned to list for an average price of $462,000; however, the majority of sellers (57%) wanted to sell their homes for $250,000 to $500,000. Another 24% are seeking offers between $500,000 and $750,000.
Beyond finances, home needs are the next driver of home sales. Reasons for selling include needing to be closer to family (24%), needing more space (23%), needing less space (23%), or getting married, having children or getting divorced (18%).
Of the 27% of home sellers who do not plan to buy a new home, 31% plan to rent, 33% say they already own another place, and 26% say they plan to move in with family or friends.
Email Marianne McPherson
