CNBC’s real estate section highlighted an increase in weekly mortgage applications last week. You can read the full article here.
Photo by Jason Wilson Studio
Despite a slight rise in interest rates the past couple of weeks (the article states 5.3% last week, up from 4.56% the previous week and 0.4% higher than this time last year), there is still an increase in total mortgage applications over prior weeks.
Nationally, the mortgage applications have been in decline for four straight weeks. This is the first week in a month in which the total number has increased, though it is still lower than this time last year. As a real estate professional, I am hopeful this means that the spring home buyer resurgence is on the horizon. I have personally seen an increase in the number of clients interested in discussing a real estate move. I am currently assisting twice as many clients this month as I did in February-March of 2018.
The article notes the 10 year low in affordable housing, as reported by builders. Single family homes are increasingly harder to find at an affordable level. In Nashville, it’s hard to find a new construction single family home for under $250,000. I’m hesitant to even consider $250,000 as truly “affordable”; however, with interest rates simmering below 5%, I believe the $250,000 mark is an attainable buy for a solid number of people.
In Nashville, the urban core is still experiencing a lot of infill. Infill is good for our city’s economic structure, but not so good for the hundreds of families moving to Nashville looking for a little space to grow.
Infill is an urban planning and redevelopment term that focuses on repurposing underutilized land and/or buildings as new construction developments. Developers and city planners use these pockets of land/building to create more housing and infrastructure.
Nashville Area builders that I think are really close to hitting the mark for these families are Ole South Builders and Beazer Homes. Ole South has new construction first time home building down to a science. I have had great experience bringing buyers to their neighborhoods, which can be found in Davidson, Rutherford, and surrounding counties. Beazer is another new construction staple. They have a nice neighborhood development in historic Old Hickory called Village Green of Old Hickory. I have yet to visit the community myself but the prices are on point! Both Beazer and Ole South are able to bring their starting prices in under $250,000, which is promising for young professionals and first-time home buyers.
If you’re thinking about buying, contact me today and I can connect you with lenders offering the best options for interest rates. And stay tuned for more reviews on national trends!