Come To Find Out
Welcome to Come To Find Out- your resource for all things real estate. You can come here to find out about the current market, terms that you see and hear during a transaction, things to do and not to do when you're in contract. The show will also feature interviews with industry partners and leading experts to help you choose who you want on your home buying journey with you. The home buying, selling and investing process can be so overwhelming, so this guide is meant to make it just "whelming."
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Come To Find Out
Achieving Success in the 2025 Housing Market
Unlock the secrets of navigating the mortgage market in 2025 with insights from Brendan Bland of Neighborhood Loans. Despite forecasts of lower rates, we're seeing mortgage rates holding strong in the mid-six to mid-seven percent range. Why? A robust economy and lingering inflation worries are the culprits, and Brendan is here to explain why a significant drop isn't on the horizon just yet. Tune in as we unravel the complex interplay between economic conditions and mortgage rates, emphasizing the need for a cooling economy to see any substantial rate decline.
For those ready to part with their homes in 2025, we provide indispensable advice for a successful sale. Understand your motivation—be it relocation, financial gain, or personal reasons—and tailor your strategy accordingly. From essential updates in key areas like kitchens to the art of minimalist home presentation, we've got you covered. While spring may be the busiest selling season, don't overlook the unique advantages of listing in winter, where serious buyers are often on the hunt. Join us as we strive to create a stress-free, rewarding selling experience that aligns perfectly with your goals.
To connect with Brendon:
Brendon Bland
614-747-3530
bbland@neighborhoodloans.com
https://www.instagram.com/mortgagemademodern/
https://www.facebook.com/brendon.bland
Sarah Thress
614-893-5885
First Time Home Buyer course: https://sarahthress.graphy.com/
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/sarah_thress_realtor/
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/SarahThressRealtor/
https://www.youtube.com/@LIFEINCOLUMBUS
Hi and welcome to this week's episode of Come to Find Out. This week, we are joined by Brendan Bland, with Neighborhood Loans, which, if you have been a loyal listener, you know that you have heard his voice and received his wisdom before. So good thing you came today, though, because we're going to be doing a market update. You know, new year, new market, not really, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2:I think the more of the same, more of the same is the headline. But sure, yeah, absolutely, we'll talk about it. We'll talk about it and make sure people know what's going on.
Speaker 1:I love it. Yeah, talk about it. We'll talk about it and make sure people know what's going on. I love it. Yeah, I swear. You see all this like new year, new you, new year, new home, new you know all the things, and it's like, well, yeah, new year, but kind of the same market, although I'm sure that you are going to give us some, some great little nuggets that show us, you know, trending in the right direction. So, yeah, so what is it that you're seeing out there? Like, what are we, you know? Obviously, again, as we always say, we don't have crystal balls, but I'd love to hear, kind of like, what you're hearing and what kind of your predictions are.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so it's it's funny I was actually looking at this earlier today kind of, what's happened over the last 12 months, what were people saying this time last year, what actually happened over the last 12 months? And kind of, where are we at today and at least as far ahead as we can see? Kind of, what are we seeing this is like as it relates to mortgage rates and those kind of opportunities you know in the market. So a year ago, you know, a lot of the conversation was around hey, 2024, the Fed is going to cut rates, mortgage rates are going to come down, but it just you know just by how much right and how, you know how quickly and all that good stuff.
Speaker 2:When we look at the last year, ultimately on the net, not a lot really changed from the beginning of the year to where we are even right now, the very, very beginning of 2025. I remember I was listening to a podcast, another podcast that they had this super smart economist on there and his focus is the real estate industry, and he said, hey, by March or April of 2024, rates are going to be in the low fives, maybe even the high fours. And I was like whoa really.
Speaker 2:I don't know where exactly that's going to come from, but there's people who are smarter than I am. A lot of people, most people. But I was like, okay, well, let's see what happens. And that didn't happen. So I looked at last year so January 7th, today's January 8th, but January 7th 2024, the average 30-year fixed interest rate which you know, that's a number that includes all loan programs, all borrower types, all down payments. It kind of just gives like a big aggregate number was a like 6.75%, 7.75%. Today, as we sit here, on January 8th, so a year and a day later, the average interest rate same metrics is a 7.125%. So we're a little bit higher but we're still in that same range.
Speaker 2:The high last year was somewhere in April. It was about a seven and a half is kind of where the average got to last year and the low was in the low sixes. So we've kind of where the average got to last year and the low was in the low sixes, right. So we've kind of been bouncing around between this like mid six to mid seven range, you know, a little bit below, a little bit above for the past year and it's been a little bit I don't volatiles isn't the word I want to use, but it's been a frequent mover within that range and the reason being and the reason that we really haven't seen rates come down a ton is and we've talked about this in previous podcasts.
Speaker 2:There's a lot of things that go into what drive mortgage rates and what make them do what they're going to do, but really the last few years, one of the biggest things is what's going on with inflation and what's going on with the economy. Those are the two biggest things. So the Fed doing what they do. Even though the Fed lowered rates this year, mortgage rates actually went up a little bit when the Fed lowered their rate because those two things aren't necessarily connected to each other.
Speaker 2:There is correlation, but they're not connected, and really what drives mortgage rates right now is what's going on in the economy and what's going on with inflation, and so inflation has gotten better in the past year, which is great. We're more on target for that, and so we saw throughout the year, rates did come down a little bit as inflation improved. The kind of the problem that we saw as it relates to mortgage rates is that this economy, despite maybe what we've heard on the news or during the election season, the economy has been stubbornly strong. People are still spending money, new jobs are being created, our GDP as a country is up and that is all. That's good news on a macroeconomic level, right, we love to hear that. But as it relates to mortgage rates, it's not good news, because the better the economy is, the stronger the economy is. The more money people have, the more likely it is they're going to spend money, and that causes potential inflation. And so that stubbornness with the economy not, you know, not cooling off per se you know we don't want, you know, a major recession. That's not what we're advocating for. But the economy not cooling off has kept mortgage rates up for, you know, and there's really no motivation or expectation that they're going to, you know, dive all of a sudden unless we start to see the economy cool down a little bit. So that's kind of what we're seeing right now.
Speaker 2:Now the Fed is going to continue to do their thing. There are expectations they're going to cut their rate for other types of lending in 2025. And so we would expect to see that. And if you were once again no-transcript. So I think really the expectation is, if we can keep rates with a healthy, steady, slow decline over the next year, year and a half, two years, that's going to be the best thing for the market. It's not going to cause a lot of volatility as it relates to demand and it's also not going to kind of cause people to, I don't know like kind of all try and dive in at the same time or pull out at the same time.
Speaker 2:We've been hovering in this range for the past couple of years and I think if you're a consumer, you might be used to this now and this is kind of the way things have been. So really it's a matter of hey can we make If we're ready to buy a home, both from a financial standpoint, from a maturity, emotional standpoint all that good stuff. I think for a lot of people, they've seen rates kind of just hover in this area for a couple of years and maybe they're kind of now coming to the point where, hey, I'm not going to wait anymore, right, because waiting for something else to happen isn't going to happen, at least in the near future. And if it does, once again there'll be opportunities to refinance and all that good stuff. But I think, once again, near term to medium term in 2025 is, hopefully, rates coming down slowly, gradually.
Speaker 2:But I don't expect unless we have something really crazy happen in the world I don't expect a big, big drop and I don't think that's a bad thing. Once again, if you're a home buyer, that's good news because if we can make the payments and we can make all that stuff work for you, that's going to keep demand at a healthy level without it getting crazy. If rates all of a sudden drop 1% or 2%, that's when the market's going to get flooded with more buyers and it's going to be more difficult for you to actually get into the home that you're looking to buy. So I swear, I don't like the sound of my own voice, but that's my thoughts for 2025.
Speaker 1:Well, I love the sound of your voice and I love that news because, as you mentioned, when we do see those extreme drops in the interest rates, that's whenever everyone comes out of the woodwork that's been waiting and they all jump in at the same time. And that's whenever we get these huge buyer wars and bidding wars and everyone having to throw money and you end up paying more for the house and sometimes even your payment is more because you're paying more. So I think, as a buyer, it actually gives you more power. So I'm not going to say we're in a buyer's market, you know yet just because sellers we still don't have enough, you know, inventory out there, supply is still low.
Speaker 2:Supply is still low, and in November yeah, november, the November stats for central Ohio, which is where you and I are, um there were still under two months um of total supply, which you know, I think you know solidly keeps us in a seller's biased market. There's, I think there's, more opportunities for buyers now, but, yeah, still leaning seller.
Speaker 1:Yeah, absolutely Well, and we're seeing that houses are staying on the market a little bit longer, which, again, is not a bad thing. Unfortunately, if you're a seller and you've maybe been watching for the past three or four years and or four years and you're like man, I, if I do everything right, I'm going to list my house, I'm going to get multiple offers, I'm going to sell it's going to be done in a weekend, you know. And now they're seeing like, well, why is that house sitting for a month? Why is it sitting for two months? Is there something wrong with it? And because that's what we've been so used to in, you know, 2020, 2021, 2022, you know it's really gotten better and I think our expectations have become more normal. But I still get that question Like, is there something wrong with this house? Because it's been sitting and you know, from my buyers and I'm like, not necessarily, you know, I mean maybe, but maybe it's not, maybe it's just it's waiting for the right buyer.
Speaker 1:I still think that every you know like there's a house out there for everyone and it always works out how it's supposed to. And you know, I think as a buyer, you should be excited that you're going to see houses sit a little bit longer, because that does give you more bargaining power. That's whenever you can go in and you know you can work with a trusted lender like brendan and you can work out a plan that you know either getting the seller to give credit to buy down the rate so that it's saving money, or get them to, you know, give seller concessions so you're bringing less to the table, so maybe they're helping to cover your closing costs, or, um, you know there's so many different creative ways that if you work with a knowledgeable realtor I would love to help you and you work with a knowledgeable lender like Brendan, then you will have this recipe for success and, like it always works out how it's supposed to.
Speaker 2:Yeah, a hundred percent. I think it's spot on. Yeah, I think, yeah, once again, we always want to, especially when we have opportunities as home buyers, to be creative with how we're going to structure an offer, looking at things like seller credit, whether to reduce your closing costs or to help you take advantage of lower rates. If you're like, hey, you know, 7.125 on average doesn't sound great, but maybe six and a half does, like you know there might be, you know, some things you can do from that perspective. Um, yeah, what are you seeing, you know, with sellers right now as it relates to your conversations about hey? Um, listen, it's winter, we're not in spring yet. You might need to do a little bit more to get your home listing ready, because we'll have some sellers listening to this podcast. What is your advice? If someone's thinking, hey, I want to sell my house in 2025, what do you think they need to do to get top dollar in 2025? What do you think?
Speaker 1:they need to do to get top dollar in 2025? Yeah, that's a great question and ultimately it comes down to first understanding what is the motivation for the sellers. You know selling. What is your motivation for moving? Is it just because you just want, you know, a different house?
Speaker 1:You know that would be a different conversation that I would be like, hey, let's go through your house, let's see. You know. Like, hey, is your kitchen updated? Nope, it's still a 1970s. Okay, you might want to go ahead and upgrade that.
Speaker 1:If nothing else, change your countertops and change. You know you can reface cabinets. We did this in our house and you know it added so much value and upgrades it for much, much less than if you just replaced all of the cabinets. So there's little things you could do.
Speaker 1:But if I'm talking to someone and they're like, hey, I've got a new job that I start next month, I know I need to do some projects around the house, but I don't have time because I also find a place where I'm going to live there and all of that, that conversation looks like, okay, cool, let's just go ahead. And you know, if there's some projects that you can do real quick, like finish some painting, or you know, like maybe a project that you started. If you can finish it, cool. If not, we'll listen as is, we'll, you know, leave all the materials around and and then, in that case, let's make your house look as minimalist as possible, you know, and then just kind of go from there.
Speaker 1:So I mean, honestly, just it's the conversation that I have, no matter what you know, and I know you have the same conversation with people when they come to you. It's like what are, what is your motivation? What are your needs? Where are you at right now? And, um, you know, like, I'm sure that that you're. You know, you're hearing all over social media Now's the best time to sell, now's the best time to buy. You know, yeah.
Speaker 1:Well, it always is, it's always the best time. But, like, the best time and people will ask me that, like, is this the best time to list my house? And I'm like, again, it honestly depends on your situation. This might be the absolute best time for you because it makes sense for you personally, but it may not be, and that's okay, like, maybe waiting a few months.
Speaker 1:I have some people that they are not in a rush, so I said, absolutely, let's wait till spring. Doesn't make sense to do it now. Wrap up your projects, start clearing out your house, let's do this now. And then I have another person that is like hey, I started a job in another state. Um, you know, in two weeks and I need to get my house ready, I've started 17 projects but I don't have time to finish them. And I'm like, cool, like that's fine, I'll meet you where you're at, we'll get this done, and you know. So you may not get top dollar on the as-is house with projects not done.
Speaker 1:But the people that are able to wait for you know, because spring market is traditionally a busier time than winter time but honestly, as long as you have your house ready to go, you know, staged, you know, and by staged I don't really mean that you have to spend thousands of dollars on getting a stager in, it's really just like make sure it's clean, make sure that it's, you know, like minimalist living. I always bring in a cleaner and a photographer and make your house look absolutely amazing before we list it. So you know like if you combine all of those things, it's always you know, it's always a recipe for success. But I also think that just managing people's expectations, like I know you and I both do just you know, hey, it is winter. There is a good chance that your house is going to sit a little bit longer than it might in spring, but you never know. I also listed something in the winter and got multiple offers. You know, the first day it was on the market. So it just depends.
Speaker 2:Yeah, every situation is different and I love what you said about really evaluating the goals. Um, you know, with with the sale, and it's the same thing with the purchase, like what, what's the goal here? Um, yeah, because, to your point, with with the sale, and it's the same thing with the purchase, like what, what's the goal here? Yeah, cause, to your point, sometimes it's more about speed, sometimes it's more about, you know, hey, getting every dollar. Sometimes it's more about hey, I, just I, you know I'm, I'm ready to move on, you know, and from the situation, and so I just want this to be easy as possible, right, and so, yeah, there's all kinds of different situations that that could be, that could be in play, and, yeah, yeah, I think, for, you know, from a buyer's perspective, you know, when you're, when you're thinking about that too, and you're kind of looking at it from the seller's lens.
Speaker 2:You know, yeah, this during the winter time, you know a lot of those folks. They're selling for a reason, and so, um, if you can kind of meet them where they are, um, and you might be able to there's, I think there's win-wins for, for everybody especially this time of year.
Speaker 1:So very cool. Yeah, I totally agree. I agree. Well, thank you so much for um checking in. Obviously, um, you know, anyone that listens knows that, uh, we have you on here frequently and so obviously I will have you back on to do another um, you know podcast on anything that we dream up, um, but also I'll have you on more regularly to do these market updates, cause I love that you, uh, you know the information that you share. Again, like I say on every podcast that we do together, make sure you're following his socials, cause he does give lots of little nuggets, nuggets, you know, all the time. So you definitely want to follow him. But I think what I love the most about you is that you don't just listen to one source. You're not just a one source person. You're listening to podcasts. You're, you know, reading the articles, you're deep diving so that you have that knowledge, so that you can truly help people. Because I know you're like me. We're servant hearted people and we just want to do the best for for everyone. So I love it.
Speaker 2:All right, is that right? No, yeah, thanks for thanks for having me on again. And, um, yeah, looking forward to a really awesome 2025. And, um, yeah, yeah, well, uh, let's make it happen.
Speaker 1:Perfect, Excellent. Well, thank you again for taking time out. As usual, I will have all of your contact information in the show notes so you know anyone that's listening. That's like man. I would love to listen to Brendan talk more. Definitely, reach out, follow his socials and you can listen to him all you want. So there you go, but thank you so much for tuning in to this week's episode of Come to Find Out. Please make sure that you are rating Five star rating is very much appreciated and leaving your feedback, because that is a gift. Also, make sure you're sharing this, because that is the greatest compliment that you can give Brendan and myself, and make sure that you're following the show so you never miss another episode. Thanks so much and we'll see you next time on Come to Find Out.