What is going to happen with the housing market with the new Omicron variant? Richard Raines of the Atlas Group LC doesn’t believe that it will have any impact whatsoever. “People are fed up and done with all of these COVID mandates, and I would be surprised if it has any impact at all”. Dan French of Guaranteed Rate feels the same way in that people still want to buy homes no matter the current COVID climate.
Statistics have shown that since the beginning of COVID almost 70% of homeowners are extremely happy to have had a home, a place where they felt safe from the world turmoil. In the middle of last year, we had approximately 4500 homes available in Las Vegas. Today that number is down to 3100 and falling. The shortage of homes is partly due to the time of year and that alone is helping to keep prices climbing.
Another aspect to the short supply is that current homeowners can’t afford to move. Prices have risen so much that they cannot afford to buy the same type and style of home that they are currently living in.
Another factor to consider are the upcoming midterm elections. People are taking note of what is going on all over the country and they are anticipating an overall change in leadership. That anticipation is lowering their fear and helping to support a strong real estate market.
There shouldn’t be as much concern over whether or not interest rates move up or down assuming that you can qualify and afford to buy a property now. If you have a loan and interest rates go down, you have an opportunity to refinance at a lower rate and if rates should go up you keep your current rate and count your blessings. You win either way. People are not as concerned about interest rates as they are about actually finding a property they want due to the scarcity of properties on the market. It’s the scarcity that supersedes the interest rates right now.
