Today, we are going to get laser focused on zip code 34202, which I am using to represent Lakewood Ranch. The graphic below shows September activity for this zip code. This shows that our strong seller’s market is still holding despite year-on-year sales being down.
We saw mortgage interest rates continue to trend higher in the last 30 days. The recent change will cost new borrowers another $7.50 per month for every $100,000 borrowed. Average U.S. rates for 30-year fixed rate mortgages were at 3.01% as of this week. Last month at this time, they were sitting at 2.87%. Of course, both are historically low.
Unlike most of the United States, our real estate market peaks in the winter. If you are considering selling, now is the time to get ahead of your competition. We are starting to see out of state buyer activity ramping up again as we head into October. Feel free to call me with questions.
One of the measures of the health of the real estate market is to track how mortgage loan repayments are performing. Understanding the trends regarding homeowner likelihood of default is important to understanding how the future supply of homes for sale will adjust. Of course, data is a bit skewed on the foreclosure front now due to the Pandemic induced moratorium on foreclosures.