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• THE PHOEBE FILES •
Your Weekly New England Real Estate Conversation
Phoebe Schreiner, our Real Estate and Lifestyle expert, answers your questions about the Connecticut and New England real estate market, along with other great coastal finds and designs. Take a scroll to see the latest Q+A on The Phoebe Files.
Dear Phoebe, This Real Estate market is ridiculous. What’s driving all this insanity?
Ellen B., Old Saybrook, CT
Phoebe Says:
Great question Ellen. These are probably the top questions my clients are asking me at the moment. Along with “how high do I need to bid over asking price to get this darn house?!”
There are several factors driving the frenzy and high prices seen in this market; all of which are common across the US.
Here are four big ones:
- Interest Rates: Rates are at an ALL TIME LOW. Quite literally, there has never been a better time to borrow money which is encouraging everyone and their Mother to want to buy a home. With mortgage rates in the 2-3% range, borrowing money is a no-brainer. Low rates expand the consumer buying population. More Buyers = more competition.
- Renters Want to Settle: This ghastly pandemic has offered us a few silver linings, one of which is people have been reminded that home is where the heart is. As cliché as that sounds, when you’re bound to your home 24/7, you want to like it and Renters are eager to set down roots and create a home of their own that has more than 4 walls and a few windows. They want yards, room to expand, a home office space AND a gym for their Peloton.
- WFH: Chances are you can name at least a dozen friends who are working from home. These are people who never would’ve had that opportunity in the past. This shift has been a game changer for home buying. Buying your own home is a smart move when you can borrow the money for almost nothing and work anywhere you want!
- Rainy Day Fund: Turns out there’s only so much on-line shopping you can do. People are also saving a fortune not eating out and cutting back on commuting expenses working from home (see above!). They’re putting that money into savings and investing on things like a home.
Fun Fact: even with low interest rates, we’re seeing more homes purchased in cash…which is a good thing.
These are just a few of the factors driving the market chaos. Wondering how long it will last? We’ll talk about that next week! Stay tuned.