Woodbridge Real Estate Update & Forecast

By Claudia S. Nelson, eXp Realty 

 

So let me say this first. No one has a crystal ball and no one really can predict the future. We can make educated guesses based on historic data and what we are seeing going on in the market. If anyone tells you differently don’t believe them, do your own research. If it was that easy we would have way more millionaires and billionaires or even lottery winners.

Lets look back at 2018

To understand what might happen in 2019 lets take a look back at what’s been going on in 2018. The beginning of 2018 we saw low inventory of homes for sale and lots of buyers out there wanting to take advantage of the market before interest rates would go up even higher. We saw multiple bidding wars, buyers escalating prices and forgoing home inspections just to winning over any other offers. This has been pushing prices quite high.

As 2018 went on we saw more and more sellers come on the market and fewer buyers. Homes that were priced right and were showing nice would still sell quickly but others wouldn’t sell as quickly anymore and towards the end of the year we saw even less home buyers due to the fact that interest rates have gotten very high (historically they are still low) and some buyers simply being priced out of the market.

2019 Real Estate Forecast

So keeping 2018 in mind and the turbulences we are seeing in the stock market, the trade war with China, the Government Shutdown and the political uncertainty this is leaving a lot of people on the fence. Now combine this with  with the higher interest rates and higher prices and we might be seeing an overall slowdown. We really have to take a close look at what’s going to happen in the 2019 spring Real Estate market as this will or should dictate the direction of the overall Real Estate Market. Some of the analyst are predicting less competition for home buyers making it more of a buyers market. The same analyst also predict home prices to remain stable in 2019 and increase modestly.

The Amazon Impact

Yes, here locally the arrival of Amazon has given the area a boost and will give the area a boost but I am not expecting it to immediately have a huge impact. Many Amazon workers relocating to the area will probably at first rent so we might see a bit of a shortage in rentals, but if we are looking at this area we always have a big influx of new workers coming so the Amazon effect might be more diluted compared to Washington State.

Interest Rates & Home affordability 

With higher interest rates and higher home prices we are seeing less price differences of making a mortgage payment versus making a rental payment. Now there are still huge advantages of owning your own home, but because of the higher rates and prices we are seeing some first time home buyers being discouraged and some outright being priced out of the market. New home builder are focusing more on the first time home buyers market with more affordable homes available for any of the higher priced homes the market is slow and will be slow going forward. Builders are focusing on lower price ranges as they are still moving.

Investors & Flippers 

Many analysts predict that some investors and flippers will step back in 2019 as the margins are simply not there anymore. Well there will always be investing going on but for some investors the margin will have be be larger in order to being successful.

Home Buyers & Sellers

There will always be serious home buyers and home seller in this area as people are moving from and to the area and many of them are looking to buy or sell a home. So there will always be activity in the local real estate market and if you are looking to buy or sell, it would be my pleasure to assist you. Especially if you are renting currently you should really look into purchasing something affordable and stop wasting your money on rental payment, making your landlord rich. Invest the money into a mortgage payment and accumulate wealth.

 

CALL Claudia S. Nelson

eXp Realty

571-446-0002