The Cascade Team Blog - Keenan Porter

When Will Mortgage Rates Come Down? Here’s When 9 Experts Say It Will Happen.

•          High mortgage rates make it difficult for prospective homebuyers to enter the market.
•          Mortgage rates could decline if the Federal Reserve cuts interest rates next year.
•          Here are nine projections from experts on when the Fed's first-rate cut will come.

High mortgage rates have effectively frozen the US housing market. And while lower rates could be on the horizon, Americans might have to wait awhile.

The average rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage is over 7.4%, up from roughly 3% at the beginning of 2022. This has deterred prospective first-time homebuyers from taking the plunge and made existing homeowners reluctant to sell their homes and buy another — they'd rather stick with the super low rates they…

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Busted! Myths Both Buyers and Sellers Believe About The Current Market

In today's wild market, there are plenty of bad ideas on both sides of the buyer/seller equation. Here's how to correct those misconceptions so that everyone can get what they want.

The current market has buyers and sellers on pause. Interest rates have certainly put a damper on many would-be buyers and sellers’ plans. Depending on their budget, where they want to go or what kind of property they are looking for, inventory may be a concern, as well as insurance. 

Everyone seems to be in a state of flux. Many would-be buyers who are renting are continuing to do so, even though the landlord raised their rent, and while not ideal, they don’t know what else to do.

Sellers, despite being able to cash out and make some good equity, cannot make the…

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3 Reasons To Lock In A Mortgage Rate Today!

Following months of encouraging signs that inflation was finally cooling, a new report showed that it ticked back up in July. With the benchmark interest rate already at a 22-year high and mortgage interest rates the highest they've been since 2000, many buyers may elect to sit on the sidelines and wait for the rate environment to improve. That said, there's no clear insight into when that improvement will actually take place. Nor do experts know how much rates will even fall. With this forecast unclear, it may still make sense for buyers to act now.

3 reasons why it's worth locking in a mortgage rate now.

There are multiple compelling reasons buyers may want to lock in a mortgage rate now. Here are three things to consider. 

Rates could go…

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Cruel Summer Of Increasing Home Prices & Mortgage Rates Comes To a Close—Why Fall Should Bring Buyers Hope

By Margaret Heidenry

Mortgage rates just jumped to their highest level in 20 years, averaging 7.09% for a 30-year fixed-rate home loan as of Aug. 17, according to Freddie Mac.

In addition to home loan rates hitting their highest levels in two decades, home prices edged upward for the week ending Aug. 12 compared with this same time period last year.

“For the third consecutive week, the median home listing price maintained a slight upward trajectory,” says Realtor.com® economic data manager Sabrina Speianu in her analysis.

Why record-high mortgage rates affect both homebuyers and sellers.

Record-high mortgage rates aren’t just weighing down buyers—they’re tethering sellers to their homes, too.

Speianu explains that most homeowners…

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Housing market downturn “inevitable” with higher rates, but brokers find bright spots.

KIRKLAND, Washington (August 7, 2023) –A downturn in the housing market was inevitable given higher mortgage rates, acknowledged broker Dick Beeson, but he and others who commented on the latest report from Northwest Multiple Listing Service noted some positives for both buyers and sellers.

The Northwest MLS statistics summarizing July activity for 26 counties in the report showed declines in listings, pending sales, closed sales and prices when compared to 12 months ago. The same metrics, which include single family homes and condominiums, were also down from June, with the exception of total active listings and months of inventory. Both showed slight month-over-month improvement.

 Buyers could choose from 10,982 active listings at the end of…

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As mortgage rates hit 7%, Is There a Magic Interest Rate Number That Will Convince Homeowners to Sell?

Story by Aarthi Swaminathan

Homeowner Marie Cantu, 35, lives just outside of Seattle, and has been looking to buy a single-family home outside of Boston to be closer to her family.

The mom-of-five has been “seriously looking” for three-bedroom homes for the last six months. Cantu is hoping to rent her home in Washington, and move roughly before the school year starts, so that her children can adjust better to the new neighborhood. Cantu, a stay-at-home mother, homeschools her children. 

Higher rates make housing more expensive — and less affordable — for aspiring homeowners. They have also been a major factor in keeping would-be home sellers out of the housing market.

On Wednesday, the U.S. Federal Reserve raised the benchmark rate by 25…

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UPDATED: 2023 Real Estate Market Predictions

Here is the link to my original 2023 PREDICTIONS

In early January we made our top 10 real estate predictions for 2023. So now, with the year a little more than half over, we are going to review and revise that same forecast and see where we actually are.

Original prediction: Sales prices will fall in 2023.

The most significant forecast was that sales prices would fall in 2023 without any sort of systemic decline in values. So far, prices are down by about 12% year over year; however, prices rose by 3.6% from March to April.

Taking into account interest rates remaining in the high 6% range currently we are standing by our original prediction that the median sales price for 2023 will be lower than that of 2022 however we do not anticipate…

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Despite High Interest Rates Buyers Compete Over Low Inventory

“Although at a lower velocity than previous years, low inventory and higher interest rates keep the overall market in a more balanced state as sales keep pace with new and existing inventory,”

KIRKLAND, Washington (July 6, 2023) – Brokers with Northwest Multiple Listing Service reported their highest volume of closed sales last month (6,842) since September 2022’s total (7,504) as buyers competed for limited inventory.

The Northwest MLS report summarizing June activity showed there were about six weeks of supply (1.55 months), with twelve of the 26 counties having less than two months of inventory. Among those were King, Kitsap, Pierce and Snohomish counties, where nearly 55% of the inventory is located. Five counties reported having more than…

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Don’t Be Left In The Dark When Selling Your Home

In today’s changing market, there’s more to a successful closing than just getting the offer accepted. Make sure you have an agent capable of guiding you from start to close!

The old school three p’s — “Plant a sign, Post on the MLS and Pray” — employed by some agents in hot markets, will not work as things begin to cool off. The adage, “You have a minute to sell your home,” beginning the moment a prospective buyer pulls up in front of a property, is no longer true.

That minute has become 10 seconds or less and happens on a buyer’s mobile device nowhere near the listing. If buyers do not like what they see, no amount of open house signs will get them into your listing — they will swipe left and move on.

This year’s market is not the same as…

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Gain Your Independence From High Real Estate Commissions

High Impact Real Estate Marketing & 1% MLS Listing Commissions For Today’s Home Sellers

The Cascade Team Real Estate is a company like no other because of the marketing, service and home seller savings we provide. We understand that in today’s real estate & home selling environment, we need to provide a high level of real estate service and widespread marketing of the home for sale, utilize technology to keep our home seller clients in the communication loop and provide added value to both buyers and home sellers in the real estate transaction. The effective use of technology tools allows our local real estate agents to focus more of their time on servicing our clients and finding buyers for your home, all the while providing the most comprehensive…

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