If you’re a buyer, there is considerably more choice in homes available than we’ve seen for quite some time. However, the rising interest rates have negatively impacted affordability. Higher interest rates should not stop you from buying. Owning a real estate asset gives you a tremendous opportunity to build wealth that renting doesn’t. Interest rates fluctuate over time so although you may have a higher payment than you were planning, at some point in the future rates will drop again and you’ll have the opportunity to refinance and lower your payment. In the meantime, you’ll be building equity that you can leverage to buy a bigger home or investments in the future. I’ve said it many times before, but the best time to buy was 20 years ago and the second best time to buy is today.

If you’re a seller, the times have changed and you need to readjust your mindset on how selling will look today. With each passing week there are more homes for sale, fewer offers per home, less aggressive terms and houses sitting on the market more than a week. The speed and intensity has dropped significantly over the last 4 weeks and I expect the trend to continue. Home preparation and pricing strategy is more important than ever as the market has less competition so you’ll need to actually try to stand out in the crowd. Don’t confuse less competition with declining prices though. Pricing is a lagging indicator and likely won’t go down for 12-18 months. If you’ve been considering selling, now is the time.