What Do Rising Interest Rates Mean for Real Estate?

From Wall Street to local lenders, the country is seeing an uptick in interest rate percentages. However, experts are not alarmed, and we are directed toward a more balanced, appropriate, and fair market.

Whether selling, buying, scrolling Zillow, or a quiet observer, recent headlines make it impossible to miss that interest rates for home loans are beginning to climb.

Forbes recently shared how rates have steadily climbed from historic lows at 2.88% to now just over 3.4%.

Increasing Interest Rates May Feel Intimidating, But Consider This:

–– Mortgage rates are still near all-time lows ––

• Sellers:  You can list without fear of rising rates. Our Tri-state market maintains record high sale prices and intense demand with no near end in sight. When appropriately marketed and priced, your property will attract qualified Buyers. (We also have strategies for the valid question, “If I sell, where would I go?”)

• Buyers:  Higher rates may require tweaking your budget and strategy, but it will also lessen competition by weeding out some unqualified buyers.

• Investors and Property Owners:  Your equity continues to grow. Let’s discuss if now is or is not the best time to capitalize on low inventory (fewer than 250 homes on the market in Hamilton County, TN).

So, with climbing interest rates and slowing home prices, what’s to love? Simply stated: balance.

Balance is gradually being restored, and the realm of real estate may be getting back in tune with something akin to harmony…especially in the height of the spring listing season just around the corner.

National Association of Realtors Chief Economist Dr. Lawrence Yun shared in a Tweet that “more residential construction and industry trade contractor jobs…are now far ahead of the numbers seen before the pandemic, implying more home-building and more supply are forthcoming,” giving a nod to the potential of new construction across the country.

Furthermore, in our local market, options are growing even as inventory stays low. New neighborhoods continue to rise especially in East Brainerd, Ooltewah, and Apison. Sale Creek and Soddy Daisy also offer hope for more inventory in the coming months alongside the new industrial park planned on the McDonald Farm property bringing mixed use and recreational venues. 

A recent story published in the Chattanooga Times Free Press also showed building permits being pulled at all time high for Signal Mountain’s Walden’s Ridge:

“In 2021, homebuilders raced to pull new single-family home permits on the ridge amid a strong housing market countywide, figures show. New permitted residential units climbed 64% on the ridge last year compared to 2020, according to the Chattanooga-Hamilton County Regional Planning Agency…the most annually in at least 15 years.”