Fall Housing Market Cooling with the Temperatures and Rising Interest Rates

As I return from a fun-filled weekend in Nashville to witness my daughter’s wedding, I felt a change in the air in Houston when I landed and the scorching hot summer had finally passed and was replaced with cooler temperatures.

Just as temperatures were cooling in Houston, mortgage interest rates went up once again, and are now nearing 8%, a higher interest rate than we have seen since 2000! To put this in perspective, according to the article by CNBC, “To put rates in perspective, for a borrower purchasing a $400,000 home with a 20% down payment on a 30-year fixed loan, the monthly payment today is about $930 more than it was when rates were at 3% during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.” That is two car notes for the average family.

While I will always maintain, that the affordability factor is all about perspective—my first house note was 7.5% and I did not think twice about buying a home over renting. We all need a roof over our heads, so it is just a matter of do you rent or buy?

While I typically work with Sellers, I have assisted more buyers this year, and even as I was heading back to Houston, I received inquiries from multiple clients that are still looking to buy a home. However, as we say in the south, the pickings are slim!

Inventory levels remain low across the United States as most sellers are tied to their homes with the golden handcuffs of a low interest rate that they do not want to walk away from. While the fall is normally our second busiest season for home sales, the recent increase in interest rates could slow this down even further.

As of today, the Memorial market has a 3.2 months’ supply of inventory; the Energy Corridor has a 2.4 months’ supply; and a 1.7 months’ supply in Katy.

Remember how I always say, that we never know if something could happen around the world to impact our housing prices? The conflict between Israel and Palestine, just spiked oil prices, so Houston could see our relocation market pick back up again. My heart goes out to everyone impacted by this conflict so for the good of those countries, I hope to see a quick resolution.

For now, enjoy the cooler temperatures in Houston!