Where is the housing market headed in 2024?

It's the question on every potential homebuyer or seller's mind right now. Keep reading for my informed predictions, but first, SAVE this post to refer back to later. While I don't have a crystal ball and can't know for sure, I've got some good news to share.

First, let's look at what we've seen so far before we predict what will happen next. Most recently, interest rates hit an annual high in October. Shortly after that, they dipped before 7% in December (for the first time in 4 months). Recently, we have seen 8 consecutive weeks of decreases to the 30-year mortgage interest rates. Currently, rates are hovering around 6.5%.

The Fed has repeatedly signaled that interest rates will continue to slide downward. That's good news. It's also not the only factor we should be considering.

Inventory — aka how many houses are on the market — impacts home prices. It's simple supply and demand. 2023 was demoralizing for many homebuyers. Now, as interest rates lower, I suspect most of the buyers saying, "I am going to wait until rates drop" will be entering the market again come spring and summer. Great, right? Well, not exactly. If buyer demand continues to exceed our historically low housing supply, that typically results in higher prices and more competition.

I believe 2024 will be an incredible time to sell your home and possibly even a great time to buy.

SELLERS: 2024, and especially the spring & summer markets, are likely to bring more buyers and more competition to your listings, generally meaning homes will sell for more.

BUYERS: With prices likely to increase, I'd look to buy sooner rather than later. I personally predict that right now is the best time to buy. I say this because we have the lower rates, but on top of that, competition is the lowest it will be all year. Competition is low because not everyone is aware of the rate drop, plus a lot of buyers exited the market due to the holiday season but are slowly easing back into it. This is called the lag effect.