This past month, Compass CEO, Robert Reffkin, spoke on CNBC twice regarding the current state of the housing market on a national scale as we head into spring. See below for his major points and takeaways from both videos:
ROBERT REFFKIN: COMPASS CO-FOUNDER AND CEO
HEALTH OF THE HOUSING MARKET - FEBRUARY 22, 2024
- 13% more inventory nationally in February 2024 than in February 2023, expecting a significant increase in inventory as we head into the spring market
- 9% more homes under contract to be sold than this time one year ago
- 60% of activity in the Compass Business Tracker (the Compass platform that tracks deals for their agents) is currently sellers evaluating listing presentations and comparable market analysis compared to 60% of activity last year (2023) at this time being new buyers working with agents on setting up searches, indicating that more inventory is coming
- Although it would be ideal for mortgage rates to be below 7%, with the stock market performing at an all-time high, having a 6% interest rate or lower is not as important
- Sellers are becoming more realistic on pricing. It is a really good time to be a buyer right now because there is an increase in inventory and pricing has moderated
ROBERT REFFKIN: COMPASS CO-FOUNDER AND CEO
STATE OF THE HOUSING MARKET - JANUARY 22, 2024
- The total number of homes sold in 2023 nationally was 4.1 million, this is the lowest number of homes sold since 1995
- With interest rates no longer at the 8.1% high that they were in the fall of 2023, we are seeing more buyers enter the market
- Sellers have become more reasonable with their pricing. In the fall of 2023, 39% of all homes experienced a price drop
- We are expecting to continue to see an increase in buyer demand for new homes than existing because there are not enough existing homes on the market due to sellers' low mortgage rates
- In January of 2023, 72% of homeowners were locked in at a 4% mortgage rate or below. In January of 2024, the number of homeowners locked in at 4% or below has decreased to 59%
