Last Updated on August 31, 2023 by Luke Feldbrugge
Welcome to the Housing Market Trends September 2023 report from Homes for Heroes! Whether you’re looking to buy a home, sell your current one, or refinance your mortgage, this report provides valuable insights from the experts to help you make informed decisions in today’s residential real estate market.
Current State of U.S. Housing Market Trends September 2023
The housing market is ever-evolving. Economic factors, government policies, interest rates, and even socio-cultural shifts can play a role in how the market behaves.
Opportunities and Challenges of the Current Housing Market
There’s fresh inventory! Not a major influx, but good signs in the market. New listings slowly increased over the summer months, and new builds also showed some gains. That means there’s new home inventory for potential buyers due to slightly more sellers entering the market during the peak months and builders getting new units up for sale.
For some sellers, this may indicate now is the time to sell. One reason may be that home prices are holding steady, and after the major gains in homeowner equity over the past few years, now might be a good time to capitalize on those gains while inventory is low and it’s a strong sellers market.
The housing market trends for September predict home pricing to level off with a slight increase due more to seasonality because things tend to cool off the last four months of the year.
Regardless, that’s good news for home owners. Below are two images of the percent change in home values since January 2022 to May 2023. It displays month over month changes in home values for Case-Shiller, FHFA, CoreLogic, Zillow, Black Knight, and of course, Freddie Mac.
To be clear, the U.S. is still going through a strong sellers market primarily due to extremely low inventory of homes available for purchase. This generally means new homes on the market are moving pretty fast, and sellers are getting a good price for their home.
Sign up today to speak with a member of our team about selling your home, and buying a new one. When heroes like you (firefighters, EMS, law enforcement, healthcare workers, and teachers) use local Homes for Heroes real estate and mortgage specialists to close on home sales, you can save an average of $6,000!
There are plenty of buyers who want to purchase a home. But, when there are more buyers than homes to purchase, the seller has the upper hand in establishing the purchase price due to the buyer competition. When sellers can get five legitimate offers, and a few are likely above the asking price, it’s tough to compete with that as a buyer. But, that does not change the fact that buyers in the market still need or want a home.
What About Mortgage Rates?
Based on projections from three major industry organizations, the next four quarters of mortgage rates are estimated to continuously drop each quarter into Q3 2024. On average, over the next 6-7 months are projected to remain in the low 6 percent range. However, some time in Q2 2024 they project we will start to see interest rates in the five percent range. This is great news for all, as it makes purchasing a home more affordable.
Low inventory, higher mortgage rates, and higher home prices really make it tough for home buyers right now.
That said, these conditions give the home seller a good chance of getting their asking price (assuming it’s priced competitively for the market) or even getting above asking for their home.
A couple other factors causing homeowners to consider selling their home right now include:
- Baby boomers are deciding to retire and downsize or simply to relocate.
- Inflation (and other economic factors) have caused the cost of living to go up significantly, making it challenging for some homeowners to afford their mortgage payments.
If You’re Entering the Housing Market Now
Learn All You Can
Reading online content like this housing market trends September 2023 report that’s a great start! Investigate and research numerous sources like the Homes for Heroes blog and conduct a deep dive of learning so you are prepared. You will not learn it all, but you will be much more prepared. Here is a short list of great blog posts to check out and better understand the home buying and selling process.
Home Buying Resources:
- Top 5 Different Types of Houses
- How Much House Can I Afford? | Home Affordability Calculator
- How to Save for a Down Payment | 13 Helpful Saving Tips
- What Is a Good Credit Score to Buy a House or Refinance?
- Get Pre Approved for a Home Loan | Everything You Need to Know
- House Hunting Checklist | Home Buyers Pick Must-Haves (Free Printable PDF)
Home Selling Resources:
- Should I Sell My House Now? | Important Considerations
- What Do Real Estate Agents Do to Sell My House? | 6 Core Skills to Know
- How to Improve Curb Appeal | 8 Tips When Selling Your Home
- Home Staging | 10 Home Staging Tips to Help Sell Your Home
- Closing Costs for Sellers | Plan What You May Need to Pay
If you’re looking for other resources to read and review regarding the real estate market, the NAR’s Existing Home Sales report comes out every month with a great industry overview of last month’s performance. Maybe that’s something you would find helpful.
Seriously Consider Working with a Real Estate Agent
Real estate agents know their local market, and how to serve your specific needs. Especially Homes for Heroes local real estate and mortgage specialists. They specialize in knowing how to take care of their local heroes’ home buying or selling needs, and the ways to save their local heroes significant money in the process.
Sign up today to learn more by speaking with a member of our team, and they will contact you to answer all of your questions. Then, when you’re ready, start working with our local specialists to handle your home buying and selling needs and you’ll be on your way to saving significant money.
Be Realistic and Open to the Ever-Evolving Housing Market
If you’re selling, be prepared for potentially tough conversations regarding pricing and making necessary changes to your property to make it more appealing. If buying, be aware of the market rates and the value properties are offering. Don’t settle on a property unless it checks all the boxes for your must-haves.
For this Housing Market Trends September 2023 report, the housing market continues to present both challenges and opportunities. Being informed, realistic, and proactive can position you well to make beneficial decisions in the current climate.
Receive an Average of $3,000 from Homes for Heroes
If you’re considering entering the housing market in September, and you have or are currently working in a community hero service member role, it may beneficial to at least consider working with Homes for Heroes for your home buying or selling needs.
Homes for Heroes assists firefighters, EMS, law enforcement, active military and veterans, healthcare workers and teachers; buy, sell and refinance their home or mortgage. But if you work with their local real estate and mortgage specialists to buy, sell or refinance; they also provide significant savings after you close on a home or mortgage. They refer to these savings as Hero Rewards, and the average amount received after closing on a home is $3,000, or $6,000 if you buy and sell!
Simply sign up to speak with a member of the team. There’s no obligation. After you sign up they will contact you to ask a few questions and help you determine the appropriate next steps for you. When you’re ready, they will connect you with their local real estate and/or mortgage specialists in your area to assist you through every step and save you money when it’s all done.
It is how Homes for Heroes and their local specialists thank community heroes, like you, for your dedicated and valuable service.
LIST OF SOURCES:
https://www.keepingcurrentmatters.com/
https://www.spglobal.com/spdji/en/indices/indicators/sp- corelogic-case-shiller-us-national-home-price-nsa- index/#news-research
https://www.fhfa.gov/DataTools/Downloads/Pages/House- Price-Index.aspx
https://www.corelogic.com/category/intelligence/reports/ho me-price-insights/
https://www.freddiemac.com/research/indices/house-price- index
https://www.zillow.com/research/data/
https://www.zillow.com/research/housing-market- challenges-32923/
https://www.zillow.com/research/data/
https://www.corelogic.com/intelligence/us-home-price- insights-jury-2023/
https://twitter.com/SelmaHepp/status/168641337169094246 4
https://www.fanniemae.com/research-and-insights/forecast
https://twitter.com/NewsLambert/status/1671900591113609 216 (Morgan Stanley)
https://twitter.com/NewsLambert/status/1671556169712672 768 (AEI)
https://www.calculatedriskblog.com/2023/07/housing-july- 31st-weekly-update.html
https://www.fanniemae.com/media/48386/display
https://www.mba.org/docs/default-source/research-and- forecasts/forecasts/mortgage-finance-forecast-jul-2023.pdf
https://cdn.nar.realtor/sites/default/files/documents/forecast- q3-2023-us-economic-outlook-07-27-2023.pdf