Housing Experts Say Spring Could Be ‘Make-or-Break Moment’ for 2023 Market
After a boom-and-bust housing cycle over the last year, housing experts are making their first predictions about the spring buying season, and almost all agree the coming months could mark a significant turning point for the 2023 market. For the past several months, high home prices and inflated borrowing costs have sidelined prospective homebuyers and home sellers, and mortgage rates are still rising, Realtor.com reports.
While the spring market could see a slight boost in sales activity, housing affordability hinges on available for-sale supply, and until sellers are ready to jump back into the fray, that stalled inventory could keep prices high.
“This is going to be a really bumpy road into the spring market,” says Lisa Sturtevant, chief economist of the Bright MLS, the multiple listing service covering the mid-Atlantic region. “[Mortgage] rates are incredibly important. … But the availability of homes for sale is going to be the main constraint.”
The number of homes for sale was up 67.8% year over year in February, according to Realtor.com data. But buyers shouldn’t get too excited. Most of these homes have been sitting on the market for what might seem like an eternity, unable to attract buyers because they’re fixer-uppers, dated, overpriced, remotely located, or utterly lacking curb appeal.