Mortgage rates will continue to go up as long as the Federal Reserve increases the prime lending rate. Lenders will get creative with programs designed to give buyers temporary relief while the country works through this process of taming inflation – usually 18 months. Home prices will most likely go flat, not decreasing, primarily due to city population growth and high demand for housing. We could see hungry sellers more aggressive, but for the most part we’ll go back to a normal 60 – 75 day average market time for sales verses 45 days now. All in all, the real estate market will fare well. Buyers will be more fussy today with pristine properties selling first.
