Hurry Up Buy That Home Yakima Rates Are Rising!

Despite growing inflation, the Yakima real estate remains hot with increasing sales. But things may change in the future because of rising mortgage rates. According to Cory Bemis owner of Yakima's John L. Scott Real Estate believes "prices will continue to rise throughout the spring (maybe as much as 1% per month), and then interest rates will finally start to have an impact and the demand will slow down.

Mortgage rates are beginning to rise and could push some out of the market

The mortgage rates stayed low for years and that helped a lot of people become new home owners but that could change in the future because mortgage rates are now at a 12 year high. The rate is 5.11 percent for 30-year fixed mortgages this week. That's the highest its been since April of 2010 when it was 5.21 percent. Lots of people became new homeowners last year when the rate was 2.97 percent.

Mortgage applications are dropping fast

Mortgages rates have been rising quickly and expected moves by the Federal Reserve as it tries to slow high inflation that's expected to keep rates moving up. Financial experts say mortgage applications are dropping fast, with total volume down five percent last week from just a week earlier and down about half from the same time a year ago.

The local real estate market is still hot

The current median home sales price in Yakima is currently $328,750 which Bemis says is a 9.5% from this time last year when the median price was $300,000.
He says sales were strong in March of this year when 158 homes sold. 159 homes were sold in March of last year. All total, 462 homes have sold so far this year in Yakima representing a 18.5% increase in sales from last year. A lot more homes are expected to be sold, says Bemis before things begin to level off.