“The market got off to a good start at the beginning of the year, and then, come April, unless you lived under a rock, there was a lot of crazy stuff happening in April and May, and that kind of threw this market for a loop,” Walkup said. “And while the luxury market was able to shake that off, that non-luxury market just slunk back into its shell, and has been turtling and treading water.”
Like everyone else in the mortgage market, Walkup is hoping that even a slight decline in rates going into the fall could turn that short buying season into a successful one for brokers, lenders, and agents.
“Rates are just simply out of reach for a lot of people,” he said. “If we can get those rates down a little bit, get it closer to 6% and 6.5%, I think you could see a lot more activity. In the meantime, as we come up to the traditional start of the fall market, the first thing that typically happens is you get a deluge of inventory.
“We’re not expecting a huge, sharp spike, but we are expecting a bump in inventory. If we get that bump in inventory, but we don’t get a corresponding bump in demand, that might shake the snow globe a little bit. We’re starting to get some sense that buyers are on the sidelines waiting to go. So I’m cautiously optimistic that the fall market will hopefully be a good one.”
Hoping buyers show up
Walkup said he doesn’t think elevated mortgage rates are the only reason for hesitation in the market. He feels that many people are paralyzed by pessimistic headlines, which are causing them to put off potential mortgage transactions.