What’s the latest news from our Louisville and Southern Indiana market? We got a chance to fill you in on all the latest updates while we attended another Mastermind event in Key West, Florida. We can’t wait to show you all the highlights of our trip, but first, let’s take a look at our market as we enter the new year.
After the holiday season, we expect the market to pick back up immediately in 2019. The big question on the minds of both buyers and sellers is whether home prices will continue to appreciate in 2019, and an overwhelming majority of economists, market analysts, and real estate experts predict that they will keep appreciating.
Robert Shiller, Nobel Prize winner and co-founder of the Case-Shiller Index, is quoted as saying, “You can call it a bubble, but it’s not the same. It’s more placed. I don’t expect a sharp turn in the housing market at this point.”
Those same experts predict home prices will appreciate beyond 2019 as well. Mortgage rates, meanwhile, are hovering around 5%, and they’re expected to rise to roughly 5.3% by the end of 2019. If that sound like bad news, remember that they used to be whole lot higher.
“After the holiday season, we expect the market to pick back up immediately in 2019.”
How will interest rates affect mortgage payments? If you were to buy a home right now with a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage and a 20% down payment, your monthly payment would be $922. By this time next year, however, that same payment will cost $1,000.
At the same time, rent prices keep going up and up too, so if you’re still renting, you should seriously consider buying a home. The difference in net worth between renters and homeowners aged 65 and older is staggering: Homeowners, on average, are worth $319,200, while renters are worth $6,710.
While we were in Key West, Sandy and I got a chance to do some parasailing, jet-skiing, and enjoy a night cruise in a spacious pontoon boat. You can see us in action starting at 2:52 in the video above.
As always, if you’re thinking of buying or selling or you have any other questions about our market, don’t hesitate to reach out to me. I’d love to help you.
