Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate CEO Sherry Chris tells Fox Business anchor Cheryl Casone that despite the drop in November sales of existing homes, “Right now, we’re still at a very good place.”
Existing-home sales fell 4.3 percent from October to November, to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.9 million, and were down 1.2 percent from a year ago, marking the first annual sales decline in more than two years.
Echoing National Association of Realtors Chief Economist Lawrence Yun’s assessment, Chris attributed the drop to three factors: mortgage rates, constrained inventories and tight credit.
Chris says the good news is that homes are still affordable, and a recent Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate survey of millennials found they still believe in homeownership, but many lack funds to make a down payment.
Asked if homebuyers are oblivious to the fact that this week’s announcement by the Federal Reserve that it plans to start tapering its purchases of Treasurys and mortgage-backed securities in January means interest rates are probably headed up, Chris said that homebuyers are more likely to be spurred into action in the spring, the traditional buying season. Source: foxbusiness.com