30 Oct October Market Update
October has been a great month for the Upstate. Conde Nast announced Greenville as their Reader’s Choice 9th favorite small city! We outranked fabulous small towns like Napa Valley, and Santa Barbara California. Did you know that Spartanburg’s downtown has the honor of being the first Cultural District in the Upstate?
Our area is so attractive, it’s no wonder our market remains strong for our sellers. Days on market continues to remain low at 45 days in Greenville and 100 days in Spartanburg. Greenville’s average sales price is up 4.8% year over year to $232k. Spartanburg’s average sales price is $190k, which is a 9.2% increase since last September.
Though appreciation will continue, economists predict that it will slow throughout 2019.
One of the factors in the shifting market is interest rates. In October, interest rates hit an 8-year high. Today, they have risen to 4.85% and analysts predict rates to reach 5.25% by the Summer of 2019 and over 5.5% by this time next year.
To understand why interest rates affect the market, take a look at this scenario:
If someone was buying a house with a $200,000 loan at 4.85%, they would pay about $1055 per month for their loan today.
If that same person waits and buys next Spring, interest rates will be 5.25% and they will pay over $1100 per month for their loan.
Therefore, waiting causes them to pay $49 more per month for the same house, simply because the interest rates have increased. Putting that in perspective, that’s 10 pumpkin spice lattes a month or possibly a full tank of gas!
What do these numbers mean for you? In short, houses are appreciating, and rates are rising, which means you would pay less to buy a house today than you will in anytime in the near future.
If you are interested in learning more about how interest rates affect your ability to buy or sell, please contact your trusted Coldwell Banker Caine real estate advisor. We love helping you understand your options to find your perfect niche in our growing Upstate.
