Eugene and Springfield Oregon Real Estate Update

Locally and nationally, new home starts have taken a huge hit as of late. Housing starts are off in large numbers, and this is one of the key indicators as to where our local and national economy is currently at. In Lane County, building permits for new construction are at a standstill.  Just look around at the number of new houses you see under construction. It is minimal. We are experiencing low housing starts, and at the same time, our nation has never had a larger shortage of housing. A sluggish economy, high mortgage interest rates, the high cost of land, high building material costs, high labor costs, high SDC charges, high property taxes, and expensive homeowner insurance have all contributed to the crash in new home construction. The remedy for this situation is complex, and most likely we will not see a rapid change in new home construction numbers any time soon. Lower inflation numbers and a decline in mortgage loan interest rates would be a good start to bringing ba...

The January 2024 Real Estate market in the Eugene and Springfield area improved some over December 2023 but decreased from January 2023. All categories were off from one year ago. The only real positive news is that the inventory of homes for sale is creeping up. Interest rates took a dip for a short period of time in December and January, but have inched back up as of late. The outlook for an improved housing market right now hinges on mortgage interest rates declining again and an improvement in our nation's economy. A bright spot right now is that, with the improved housing inventory, we are having a much easier time finding homes for our clients. We are also finding many sellers who are more motivated and willing to pitch in with paying buyers closing costs, etc. This is something that we have not seen happen in years. There is always a bright spot if you look for it. The following are the home sales numbers for Lane County for the month of January 2024. New Listings New ...

After years of historically low mortgage interest rates, the Fed began a systematic increase in rates, which in turn influenced the mortgage market and sent rates soaring. Mortgage rates peaked in the Fall of 2023 before they began to subside in the Winter of 2023. Today, rates have declined significantly, and there are mixed thoughts as to where mortgage rates may be headed in 2024. The following article from NAR gives their opinion on the 2024 mortgage rate situation. Only time will tell, but one thing is most likely for sure, and that is that we most likely won't see a return of 8% mortgage rates in 2024. This is great, but further declines in mortgage rates in 2024 would be even better. Although the Fed’s rate does not directly impact mortgage rates, it often influences them Jessica Lautz, deputy chief economist at the National Association of REALTORS®, anticipates mortgage rates to remain in the 6% range for most of the year. “While this is certainly higher th...

Does a change in mortgage interest rates have an effect on home sales? You bet it does! Inflation in home prices over the past several years has made home ownership an impossibility for many would be home buyers. The high cost of homes was compensated for over the past years by record breaking low mortgage interest rates. When rates began to rise but home prices remained steady and even increased, the ability to purchase a home for many faded away. Even though mortgage rates are higher than they were even a year ago, they have dropped from their peak in the Fall of 2023. Even a 1% rate decrease has spurred interest and made home payments more affordable. The question we have is whether rates will decline further, hold steady, or maybe even rise again. The answer here depends on what happens with our national economy. Mortgage rates need to decline further to heat up our economy again, but this could bring back high inflation rates. Higher inflation rates could put the brakes on any...

    Both Pending and Closed sales have continued to decline both nationally and here in the Eugene Springfield area. We are now in 2024 and what will the national and local housing market be like this year? There is some light coming through this tough Real Estate market as we have watched mortgage interest rates decline slightly. The forecast is that rates will continue to decline over the next several months. If rates do decline, then look for both pending and closed home sales to do an about-face and begin to bounce back. The rate and amount of any recovery here will depend upon the extent of the mortgage rate reductions. I will keep you updated as we move forward. The following is a short article from "Realtor.com".   The numbers:  Pending home sales were flat in November compared with the previous month, according to the monthly index released Thursday by the National Association of Realtors (NAR).   The Pending Home Sales Index remain...

  Here we are in early 2024 and has anything really changed with the housing market, both here in the Eugene and Springfield area and nationally? The answer is a flat, NO! But, I believe we are on the edge of change and it could start showing more in the next few months if the prediction of falling mortgage interest rates become reality. This will be very positive, but there is a black cloud hanging over all national housing markets. That black cloud is inflation. Even with a slower market, home prices have continued to increase and with a faster paced market potentially on  the horizon, it could fuel inflation in home prices even further. Typically, when we see a slower market with less demand, we see home prices decline and in our current market, we should have seen sharp declines in home prices. This just has not been the case. The issue here is that rising home ...