00:00 Speaker A

So if we got a real, durable cease cease fire, Joel, there, you you think the positive knock-on effects for the housing market, those could be apparent pretty quickly?

00:11 Joel

Absolutely. Uh I think what’s happening right now is a lot of buyers are kind of getting a double whammy. Uh they’re experiencing higher mortgage rates that make their monthly payments higher on homes that they might be buying. and they’re also seeing prices of just everyday living expenses going up. So they’re having a hard time saving. So, less savings means a smaller down payment, smaller down payment means financing more of a purchase and doing that at high mortgage rates is really uh turning people away. So, I think if we were able to see a ceasefire and see mortgage rates come down, uh we’d really have a much stronger case for the rest of the year in the housing market.

00:51 Speaker A

Joe, we always talk about, you know, housing nationally, but let’s just break down some some of the regional differences. Like what are the sort of the the the the best opportunities for buyers right now, Joel, as you look across the country?

01:09 Joel

I think some of the best opportunities are in the sunbelt markets where we’ve seen major price corrections. Uh places like Austin, Texas where I’m joining you from today has seen major year over year downturns in pricing and it’s becoming a really a good opportunity for buyers. You know, things are really lining up in buyer’s favor. Inventory is up, prices are down, you know, seven or 8% year over year and uh homes are spending longer on the market so you don’t have to be in as much of a hurry. So, I think places like Austin and Phoenix and Jacksonville, some of these places that got really out of whack in 2021 and 2022 when prices went through the roof, are now recovering back into where prices should be and offering a great opportunity for buyers to jump in and we’re starting to see that happen.

01:48 Speaker A

All right, so you you mentioned some good opportunities there, Joel. Where where what are some places that are where it’s a bit tougher?

01:55 Joel

I think it’s still tough in a lot of northeastern markets where inventory is still really constricted. Uh places like Providence and Hartford. Uh inventory hasn’t recovered back to pre-pandemic norms yet. and uh we’re just seeing a lot of issues with buyers having opportunities to to make a move. Uh, you know, there’s just not a lot of homes available and prices continue to grow. So those places might be challenging much more in favor of sellers in the Northeast especially while markets in the South are favoring buyers.