“I certainly feel this is a really good window of opportunity for buyers and people who own a house,” McGowan told Mortgage Professional America. “The seasonal aspect of it for buyers, naturally, there’s a little bit less activity in the winter months, which means you can get that much better of a deal.”
A winter buying season?
While winter tends to be a slower time in the mortgage market, the current conditions might make it an ideal time for homebuyers to find a good deal. McGowan believes that, once spring rolls around, increased activity will likely push prices higher again.
“It’s not uncommon for prices to pull back a little bit,” he said. “Also, rates are the lowest they’ve been in quite some time. It’s not going to be for very long with both of those staying at the lower end of the range we’ve seen lately, because when the weather starts heating back up in the spring, and if rates are still here or better, it’s going to be gangbusters. So I think there’s a window the next 2, 3, 4 months where people should really jump.”
McGowan believes the market has started to balance out a bit. There are still deals to be had for buyers, but they may not see the seller concessions they were hoping for.
“I think there’s been that ebb and flow back, that adjustment, back where they had to kind of re-correct, that you can’t just ask for everything and get it anymore,” he said. “There was a time, and that’s a little bit in the rearview mirror now. I think the market has balanced out and softened slightly.”