More homes are popping up for sale in the Triangle, and more
of them are sitting on the market longer, according to a
recent market analysis.
“The days of
just putting a sign in the yard and selling it really quickly, those are behind
us,” said real estate agent Jason Kogok. “Our sellers have to take the time to
improve their properties, get it market ready.”
The market
analysis shows inventory is up 44%. Homes are staying on the market for about
45 days on average. That’s 18% longer than a year ago.
Kogok has
been selling homes in the Triangle area for more than 20 years. He calls the current
state of the market “normal.”
“It just
doesn’t feel normal because of what we just came out of,” he said. “During
COVID, we had what I call artificially-low interest rates. It made all
these people who never thought about buying all of a sudden become buyers. We
saw a big influx of buyers.”
President
Donald Trump has repeatedly urged the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates, which he says would save U.S. taxpayers billions
of dollars on interest costs on the federal government’s massive debt, and
boost the economy.
Federal Reserve Chair
Jerome Powell is sticking to his position that the central bank will keep its
key rate on hold while it waits to see how President Donald Trump’s tariffs affect
the economy.
Lower rates were one of
the factors that drove high demand during COVID.
However, Kogok
said interest rates alone don’t directly correlate to more interest in buying, noting
the economic uncertainty people are feeling across the country.
“If you
don’t feel confident in your job or your income, buying doesn’t matter what the
interest rate is, you’re probably not going to do it,” he said. “Somebody’s
feeling about their job security doesn’t show up in a number.”
Kogok also warned,
buyers to be careful what they wish for, when it comes to interest rates.
“Usually,
that is contributed to having high unemployment, consumers not spending money,”
he explained.