Mortgage Rate Lows and “How is the Real Estate Market?”

No matter the local, national, or global situation, I always get the same question: “how is the real estate market?” Never having lived through, much less worked through, a worldwide pandemic before, I was cautious when answering this question back in March. Now that we are about four months in to our “new reality” I feel much more comfortable with this conversation, especially because the Miami housing market is moving! Case in point, I currently have seven houses under contract, which shows you that there are definitely buyers out there.

Fortunately for those who are looking for a new home, 30-year fixed mortgage rates have dropped to 2.98%, which is the lowest they have ever fallen in Freddie Mac’s 50 years of record keeping. The Wall Street Journal reported, “the average rate on the 30-year mortgage stood at 3.72% at the beginning of the year and 3.81% a year ago, according to Freddie Mac.” Those were low mortgage rates to begin with, so the fact that they have dropped below 3% makes financing a home purchase – or refinancing your current home – extremely attractive right now.

The low mortgage rates, people’s desire to leave condo life (shared spaces are not desirable in a pandemic), and others moving to Miami specifically from the Northeast for tax purposes have all been key factors in the market boom that we are experiencing during these uncertain times.

Whether you are looking to buy or sell a house right now, I would tell you to do it. Buyers have an unprecedented opportunity to lock in a mortgage rate under 3% and sellers have what buyers want – houses in South Florida! To answer the age-old real estate question, the market is hot!

Click here to read the full article in The Wall Street Journal.