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This Month: It's Front Porch Season!
It's all about the front porch this month, so I hope you'll gain new ideas on how to make your front porch perfect for beautiful and memorable Spring moments.
Below, I have included some articles about creating the perfect front porch this Spring. Aside from my regular features, you'll also find great events happening locally to get you out there and enjoying this great Spring weather.
Hope I'll get to bump into you around town!
On the Real Estate Front
On the national front, the month of March saw existing home sales decrease in the following three regions; the Midwest, the South, and the West.
Lawrence Yun, Chief Economist of The National Association of Realtors points to interest rates as the cause:
"Though rebounding from cyclical lows, home sales are stuck because interest rates have not made any major moves."
Given several recent economic reports and market indicators, many economists now project that interest rates may not come down till the third or fourth quarter of the year.
On the other hand, according to Yun:
"There are nearly six million more jobs now compared to pre-COVID highs, which suggests more aspiring home buyers exist in the market."
Given that we are officially in the rush of the Spring Home Buying Season, the continuing lack of inventory and more buyers, makes it the perfect time to list your home. On this, Yun has this to say:
"More inventory is always welcomed in the current environment. Frankly, it's a great time to list with ongoing multiple offers on mid-priced properties and, overall, home prices continuing to rise."
If you would like to see what your home is worth in today's market, I'd be happy to prepare a home evaluation analysis for you. I can also help you get your home ready for the market.
On the other hand, if you are looking for a new place to call home. I can also help you find it!
Just call or text me today to get you started on your journey home!
Other Interesting Market Characteristics
- First-time buyers accounted for 32% of sales in March [up from 26% in February and 28% in March 2023]
- Cash sales accounted for 28% of transactions in March [down from 33% in February but up from 27% one year ago]
[from the National Association of Realtors]
MARKET HIGHLIGHTS
Below, please find national real estate housing data and infographics from the National Association of Realtors. Keep reading to view the summary for the Louisiana market and in particular, St. Tammany and Tangipahoa Parishes.
We think you'll be most interested in what is happening here, but it helps to be aware of national market trends.
Please keep in mind that on the national level, data lags one month behind.
National Snapshot for the month of March
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Pending Sales - increased by 3.4% month over month [while in the regional South they increased by 7.0%]
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Existing Home Sales - decreased by 4.3% - month over month
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Home Prices - increased 4.8% - year over year
Continuing Challenges:
- Interest Rates
- Affordability
- Inventory Shortages
- Insurance Rates
The month of March continued to trend toward a Sellers Market with 3.2 months of Inventory.
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