Savannah real estate is getting hot again. The Chatham area’s economic growth and solid jobs numbers in recent years have made it possible for many people to buy new homes. So much so that the inventory of Savannah real estate listings is low and there is now a great market for sellers where Savannah homes for sale can get into the right hands for the right price, quickly. Home sales are happening at such a fast rate that they could easily reach a high point not seen since 2007. One big reason for this is that first-time buyers are returning to the market. Savannah real estate prices are going up too, thanks to a flourishing job market and low mortgage rates. Buyers feel the pressure to act quickly, while sellers feel the pressure to get their houses on the market while the number of Savannah real estate listings remains low.This resurgence could be a sign that the country has made it to the other side of a sluggish, quasi-recovery that has already taken six years. The housing market as an additional source of growth could be just the thing it needs to take off again. Buyers of Savannah homes for sale are prone to wanting quick closings to ensure that they aren’t priced out by rising home values in the market. These same buyers are also more confident in their prospects and are ready to make offers.
Demand for houses in 2015 has been off the charts. Buyers were tentative in previous years, but now they’re leaping into the market with both feet. Sales have leaped with them, jumping up 5.1 percent in the last month and May marked the third consecutive month where homes sales exceeded five million. Because Savannah real estate listings have failed to match the demand of buyers trying to get in, many home prices have soared. The median home price in the country has gone up to $228,700, which is a gain of 7.9 percent and is only $1,700 less than the peak in July of 2006. First-time buyers are again fueling this trend as 32 percent of home sales last month were the result of first-time buyers. That’s compared to 27 percent in the last year. Even though the improvement is notable, it’s still a bit behind the 40 percent that marked the strong real estate market of past years.
There are a few factors involved in the surge of growth. One is that employers have added over three million workers in the last year. As a result, unemployment has slipped down to about 5.5 percent instead of the previous 6.3 percent. More paychecks mean more Americans feeling better about their finances. A first in the most severe recession since the 1930. The recession was, of course, sparked by the housing collapse in 2006, so it almost makes sense that a housing climb could be the thing to reverse the economy now in 2015.
The second factor is that mortgage rates have remained consistently low in efforts to start just this kind of spark. However, they’re also slowly rising as the Federal Reserve prepares to raise a key interest rate after about a decade. The average rate for a 30-year fixed was four percent recently, which was a slight increase from the previous low of 3.59 percent. That low had been in effect for 52 weeks. This has made buyers eager to close on their purchases quickly to get in on the lower rates. For Savannah real estate and markets all over the country, it means houses selling faster and faster. Nearly 30 percent of homes are sold within two weeks of being listed, which is a huge jump from the previous 19 percent. Savannah homes for sale are dwindling quickly because of this, leaving inventory low. The gains also seem to be fueled by buyers looking for value, unlike the previous increase in prices, which was fueled by debt. That gilded increase is what caused the bubble to burst.
It’s a great time for those considering selling to jump in before the buyers cool down. Rising prices indicate that many homeowners are recovering lost equity and selling may become more attractive as a result.
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