Buying a home is in many people’s plans for 2017. If they are part of your plans, here is what you need to know.  
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If buying a home was one of your New Year’s resolutions, we’ve got some good news for you. 
We ended 2016 in better economic shape than in previous years. Unemployment is down to 4.6%, the lowest level since August 2007. Consumer confidence is also higher than it has been since July 2007. Home values have recovered both nationally and in more than half of all major markets in the country.
People are employed, confident, and have recovered equity in their homes. The stock market is nearing record highs, as well. That sounds like the perfect recipe for buying a home.
Before you take the plunge, however, you should understand that for all the positives, there are a few negative factors that may affect your ability to buy, such as higher mortgage rates and a lower inventory of homes for sale.Your window of opportunity to buy is closing. Mortgage rates are up over 0.25% in the last year, which translates into 3% higher payments. A key challenge for buyers is that rates are now likely to move up even more, as much as 0.75% in 2017. That would increase payments by an additional 9%.
Low inventory has been a problem in our market for more than four years. As sales have grown, supply has fallen. We’ve seen the average days on market drop dramatically as home buyers burn through the available stock. 
If you are interested in buying a new home, I would suggest getting an early start. Rates are only going to go up, so right now represents the best time for you to lock in a rate for the life of your loan before they go up even higher.
If you have any other questions about buying a home in 2017 or any other real estate questions, give me a call or send me an email. I would love to hear from you.