Winter is coming...

Despite numerous attempts by Big Media to inject fear and panic into the economy and the housing market, the Valley’s real estate market continues to champion on. Home prices have fallen slightly, and inventory has increased, but not to the complete detriment of Wine Country homeowners. In most areas, prices are still higher than Covid times, and specific types of homes are selling quickly. For instance, if you have a relatively new single-level home in Newberg in a nice subdivision, you should expect to sell within a week, at or above your asking price (if priced correctly. ex: $600,000 for 3 bed, 2 bath, 1,750 sf.). On the contrary, you must be patient if you are attempting to sell a two-level, 4 bedroom, 2.5 bathroom home priced near $700,000. 

With Trump’s victory on Tuesday, the stock market reacted very quickly, leading to treasury yields that increased to 30-day highs. This, in turn, led to an increase in interest rates. We were hovering near 6% rates in early September and now sit above 7%. It will be an interesting few months as the economy will continue to do well and show optimistic stock market growth, which means that yields and rates will likely remain high. I hypothesize that the real estate market will largely remain the same until the New Year, but we will begin to see mortgage applications increase. That said, having more general optimism in the market will benefit the market overall. My new construction contacts tell me they are prepping for a busy 2025 and expect sales to be very strong in Q3 and Q4.