Business View Magazine May 2023

12 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE VOLUME 10, ISSUE 5 “While prices have dropped from where they were at their peak this time last year, they are still above 2021 prices in many markets,” she said. “Mortgage rates have stabilized a bit and offer activity seems to be resuming, as buyers are slowly coming back to the table.” INVENTORY WILL INCREASE At present, McLean said active list counts — i.e., inventory— are all over the place. “In some places they are double [last year’s],” she said, “and in some places they are down 25%.” She said fewer homes were listed during the fall months, but homes that were listed are staying on the market longer. Additionally, during this period, she said, more homes than usual were taken off the market. “We see this as being a relatively fluid market where, as buyer activity picks up, there are quite a lot of homes that are ready to come on the market once mortgage rates have stabilized.” SOME PANDEMIC-ERA OWNERS MIGHT FACE BUYER’S REMORSE During the early part of the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a rush to buy homes — and many buyers paid premiums. However, some likely will begin to regret that decision, said Odest Riley Jr., CEO of WLM Realty and Co., based in Inglewood, California. “The biggest issue in 2023 will be buyers who overpaid in 2021 realizing they have no equity and are stuck with a property they may not have really wanted,” he said. “These buyers will be forced to ride out the down market and get back in the game when the economy recovers.” A SENSE OF NORMALCY WILL RETURN If you’ve been feeling priced out of the market the past few years, Riley said this is the year that regular, hardworking buyers will be able to get back in the game. “First-time homebuyers will be welcomed with their FHA loans,” he said, “and sellers will be handed a dose of how it feels to not be in control of the whole transaction.” Buyers are finding they can once again buy without waiving contingencies and sellers are starting to offer concessions,” she said. “However, many sellers hold low-interest-rate mortgages and are not under pressure to sell and so may hold out for the offers that they want.”