(CBS DETROIT) – Real estate numbers are in for October, and sales and values are down, according to the National Association of Realtors.
“I wouldn’t say you should be worried. “I think people should exercise caution,” said Marcus Cronce, a realtor with Real Estate One.
Croce said the market is still strong despite higher rates, but things are very different from the last few years.
“There’s definitely a slowdown of some sort, so I even tell everybody that I work with that two years ago, it was pretty much madness. Every house that you went to probably had 10 or more offers. Everybody was putting appraisal guarantees and the escalation clause and pretty much doing everything they could to secure the home. Things are still going on right now, but it’s just not the same magnitude,” Cronce said.
However, new data from Redfin suggest in other parts of the country, sellers are incurring losses and having a difficult time turning a profit.
According to Redfin, roughly 6% of home sales resulted in a loss to the seller, and that number has doubled since last year.
Cronce said that is not happening here in Michigan yet, but there is certainly a cool down here, and rising interest rates are definitely a factor.
“With interest rates, obviously, there’s a huge difference in where we were in terms of two years ago. People were locking rates at 2.5-3.5%, and now they’re 7.5% and above, so that’s a massive difference.
The bottom line for buyers is to use caution and be conservative. For sellers, thinking long terms can help avoid selling your home for a loss.
“If you’re going to turn around and try and make a sale in a year or two, you need to approach it differently than if you’re gonna be there for 10-20 years,” Cronce said.
