First-time homebuyers in the District facing obstacles
WASHINGTON - Despite the high demand for homes, there are not enough of them on the market for buyers in the D.C. region.
This comes at a time when the mortgage rate has reached its highest level in over a decade.
Experts tell FOX 5 there are a lot of buyers but not enough sellers, especially when it comes to single-family homes which can be a problem for first-time homebuyers.
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"The single-family home is very hot and competitive," said Jay Nix, a realtor for Compass Real Estate. "A new home comes on the market, it sells within 24 hours."
Nix says with single-family homes selling fast it’s a good time for first-time homebuyers to take advantage of buying condos because there is more inventory.
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"You can also get your closing cost paid for in some cases and also get a little off the list price as well," he explained.
He said condos aren’t selling as fast, and it could be because some first-time buyers don’t have enough money saved or think they can't afford it.
However, Nix says there are a lot of programs in the District, Maryland, and Virginia that can help.
One of his clients, Mia Navarro, is a first-time homebuyer who was able to take advantage of the D.C. tax abatement.
"You qualify by the home price being at a certain cap and then also making under a certain salary per year," Navarro said. "That allowed me not to pay property taxes for the first five years."
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Mia said she’s been paying close attention to the housing market and the rising interest rates.
"What I realized after speaking with Jay is regardless of if I wait for the interest rates to come down, the home prices are also going to be rising as well," she said.
Chong Yi, producing branch manager for Apex Home Loans, says the housing market isn’t changing anytime soon.
"I can say in all certainty we’re going to be in a sellers’ market for a good time to come," he explained.
Yi said mortgage rates have been going up because of high inflation, but the good news for potential homebuyers is he believes we could see those rates drop sometime within the next 6-18 months.
But is a housing market bust on the way?
Yi says there’s no way it’d go anything like the 2008 crash.
"You had a lot of sellers, not enough buyers. It’s completely the other way around right now," Yi said. "What’s going to happen is as the buyers and sellers level off you’re going to have like this type of thing or slow growth."
Yi also tells FOX 5 that when buying a home for the first time it’s important to find a real estate agent you trust and a lender who can help you determine what you can and can’t afford given your financial situation.