What’s the latest news from our Jonesboro real estate market? The biggest challenge we’re
facing is inventory. There aren’t enough homes on the market to meet demand. That means
if a home comes on the market that you’re interested in and fits all your criteria, you need to jump
on it. You have to get after it, because if you don’t, someone else will. If you’re a seller, this means
you can probably ask whatever you want in terms of price. Due to this lack of inventory, we’re
seeing houses sell for more money than I’ve ever seen before.
Another reason resale home prices are surging is that lumber prices for new construction homes
have gone through the roof. In fact, just about everything you see on a new construction home has
increased in price dramatically. If new construction homes cost between $140 and $150 per square
foot, sellers who perhaps paid $120 per square foot for their current homes can now ask for $125
to $130 per square foot.
I always used to say that real life is not like HGTV, but guess what? Now it is.
”This obviously isn’t great news for buyers, but the silver lining is that you can lock in a ridiculously low interest rate right now. It seems like I’ve been talking about this for the past 15 years. Every time we think rates can’t possibly get any lower, they do. We’re seeing 15- and 30-year fixed rates as low as 2.9%, 2.5%, and even 2.1%. Although you’ll have to pay more for a home, some of the cost is offset by how low your monthly mortgage payment will be.
In addition to being ready to jump on the next suitable listing, have your pre-qualification letter in-hand when you visit it because there’s an agent in front of you and an agent behind you showing that home. We recently listed a couple of homes that literally had lines outside their doors mere hours after going live on the market. I never thought I’d see that here in Jonesboro. I always used to say that real life is not like HGTV, but guess what? Now it is. As always, make sure you get in touch with a great real estate agent so they can guide you through the home-buying process.
If you’d like to know what your home is worth or have questions about our Jonesboro market, don’t hesitate to reach out to me. I’d love to help you.