For some luxury clients, the true “wow factor” may be the home’s ability to nurture a lifestyle that’s full, fulfilling and aligned with their values.

Low Income Housing Choices

Are you looking for low priced housing options due to having a smaller income?

With home prices having skyrocketed across the country over the last few years it has been harder than ever to find affordable housing.

It has been a crazy seller’s market characterized by bidding wars with many homes selling over the asking price.

It hasn’t been the kind of market that has been kind to those looking at housing for low income. There is the chance that things could be shifting a bit in some markets across the country.

It raises the possibility to find some housing options that won’t be priced out of your budget.

Existing home sales fell almost 6% in July compared to the month prior, dropping to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 4.81 million units, according to new data from the National Association of Realtors published this week.

Built a cottage on the site. Construction site. Wooden frame of the home from a bar. The house wooden foundation. Building of houses under the key. Production of wooden houses.

That marks the slowest pace of sales since November 2015, with the exception of a brief slide at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Compared to a year earlier, sales are down almost 20%, the NAR added.

NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said that in terms of economic impact, “we are surely in a housing recession”. He added that “builders are not building”, citing a report earlier this week that new home starts are down 10% from a year earlier.

“However, are homeowners in a recession?,” he asked. “Absolutely not. Homeowners are still very comfortable financially.”

The NAR’s July numbers are based on home sale closings, so they relate to contracts that were mostly signed in May and June. It’s known that mortgage rates jumped higher in June, when the average 30-year fixed loan mortgage crossed the 6% barrier. Since then, rates have settled into the mid-to-high 5% range. That’s still way up from the beginning of the year, when rates were hovering at around 3%. It means housing affordability took a real hit in June, especially when coupled with rising inflation.

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If you’re in the market for a house, you know that times are tough. Even though sales are slowing prices remain at an all-time high. With the recent passage of President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, many first-time home buyers were optimistic that this bill might help lower housing costs. But, exactly what’s included in the Inflation Reduction Act? And how does it benefit home buyers, homeowners, and real estate investors?

If you want to learn the answer to these questions, and more, then you’re in the right place. In this guide, we’ll break down everything that’s happening in the housing market right now and whether this new law affects it.

 

Why Are Housing Costs Rising?

Before we dive into whether or not the Inflation Reduction Act affects housing costs it’s important first to understand why they’re rising. You’ve probably heard that there’s currently more demand than supply in the housing market.

There are two reasons for this. First, pandemic-related restrictions delayed the construction of many new homes for months or even years. Second, supply chain issues and inflation have made it more expensive to build new homes.

As home-buying demand cools from the record pace of 2021, competition is now hottest for the lowest-priced homes as mounting affordability obstacles stretch buyers’ budgets, the latest Zillow analysis has found.

Throughout most of the pandemic, buyers shopping in the middle and top price tiers faced the strongest competition — inventory was relatively lower, and there were more sales. Now, inventory for the least expensive homes is tightest while the sales gap has closed.

“Buyers are stretched thin when it comes to affordability, and they are flocking to the lowest-priced homes on the market to get their foot in the door,” said Zillow senior economist Nicole Bachaud. “Still, the less frenzied market compared to last year will feel like a breath of fresh air for those buyers who haven’t been priced out. It’s not yet a buyers market, but it’s becoming a better time to buy, with more time to consider options and less chance of being dragged into a bidding war. Demand is lighter for homes at the top end of the market, and owners appear to be reluctant to sell and move to a different home that will presumably come with a much higher monthly payment at today’s mortgage rates.”

Shifts in inventory, sales and price cuts show the market is in the midst of rebalancing after perhaps the most competitive period ever. Home sellers are adjusting their expectations to the current reality, and buyers have more negotiating leverage than they have had since the onset of the pandemic. Still, home prices are at or near record highs, pushing buyers who remain in the market toward homes in the lower end of the price range.

At the end of July, inventory in the most expensive third of the housing market was up 11% month over month, and 19.3% higher than a year earlier. Similarly, inventory in the middle third was up 12.7% month over month and 17.3% annually. Inventory is growing in the lowest-priced third as well, but only 11.2% month over month and 10.4% year over year. During the same period in 2021, inventory in the least expensive tier was growing on a monthly basis at nearly twice the rate of the most expensive homes.