Housing Market Comments: May 30

General comments

Mortgage rates continue to dominate the real estate market conversation, tipping over 7% for many buyers in May and reaching a national 30-year fixed average of 6.57%.

(Sources: 7% is anecdotal/experiential, 6.57% is the national average from Freddie Mac for the week of 05/25. Keep in mind that any individual loan rate is based on a borrower's income, assets, credit and a myriad of other factors. Connect with a licensed mortgage professional for specifics)

The debt ceiling has been a hot topic in recent weeks and the debate impacted mortgage market volatility (1 2 3). Active buyers are less sensitive to the rates than they were at this time last year (the shift from 4% to 6.5% in a few short months was a major mental and financial adjustment), but any hit to affordability does squeeze the qualified buyer pool. General uncertainty around the economy (including inflation which remains a pesky factor) also can make us non-economists hold tighter to our dollars, whether they’re in a bank or in home equity.

Local market

When you see sweeping pricing generalities in local real estate news and reports (especially pesky Instagram reels from hyped-up sources): keep in mind that 2022's monthly prices were volatile, peaking in June, then trending downwards. Because so much changed in a short time, the year-over-year relationships each month of 2023 will be a bit odd as well. 

It's also important to always remember that as chaotic and fast-moving that 2020-2022 were in terms of price appreciation, that real estate is best judged with a longer term perspective. Our median price range (for Whatcom County as a whole) is hovering around $200,000 higher than the median prices just 5 years ago. 

Here’s a pictorial overview of monthly median prices for 2022 and 2023 (up to April), and the annual medians for Whatcom County in 2018 and 2013 for context:

Have questions about your home or how to position yourself as either a buyer or seller? Reach out to team@cohengroupnw.com and we’ll get you connected with a pro!

Written by Tiffany Holden without the aid of any AI. All CGNW blog posts are written by real humans in our own words.