Interest Rates vs. Property Values

This has certainly been the biggest issue in real estate for the last year, or more..

The interest rates went from around 2.5% to around 7.5% on 30 year fixed mortgages, in just over a year.  Only the Government could do something so stupid!  Of course, this stalled the market.  Nationwide, in 2023 approximately one third fewer homes were sold than in 2022.  That’s huge! In Washington State, we saw prices decline as a result of the sharp increase in interest rates.  Buyers couldn’t afford as much for a house and the overwhelming sentiment was that it was a “Buyer’s Market”.  Statistically, this wasn’t true.  We had a shortage of homes, which should have caused it to be a “Seller’s Market” with price increases.  But tha ...