School is out! 

If time flies as fast in your neck of the woods as it does in ours then like us it's hard to believe spring is already over and we are walking right into summertime. 

This spring has been an interesting one for the real estate market with both consistent and inconsistent factors playing roles in participants' everyday decisions. 

March, April, and May are typically the busiest months of the year when it comes to inventory, and on the consistent side of things, we have seen steady, though low inventory over the past three months. March brought 42 listings, April brought 37 listings and May came in at the top with 47 listings. (Residential listings in the Moscow area). 

With the inventory at a slow steady trickle, our total number of active listings has stayed low. There are 53 current, residential, active listings in Moscow as I write this, And considering that 33 properties sold in the month of May, those 53 actives translate into under two months of supply. This level of limited supply is typical for our market and on par with the past few springs. The one big difference between past years and this year has been interest rates. Rates have been hovering in the 6-7% range this spring with sometimes significant daily swings both up and down. While historically rates at these levels are still considered low, given the current prices, these rate levels have put a hurt on Buyers purchasing power. Many first time buyers are pushing their approval limits to afford entry level homes in the market. The real kicker is that obtaining approval for those entry level prices is just half the battle. When an entry level home does come up in the $350-$400k range, we are seeing stiff competition with prices getting bid up, leaving buyers with options of dropping inspections, offering to make up appraisal gap differences, and catering to sellers' closing time frames. While more experienced well financed Buyers aren't dealing with approval struggles, many were hesitant to jump into the market, especially early this spring due to concerns with the economy and thoughts that prices may fall drastically due to the higher rates. As the spring market comes to a close, (at least so far) it is becoming increasingly clear that prices are not going to fall drastically. And demand is continuing to keep up with supply.The main factor that will control the rest of the year will be interest rates.If we saw interest rates climb up into the 8%+ range we could see an immediate impact on sales volume but not necessarily sales price. The reason being, it would cause a stalemate of sorts by cutting our already limited inventory supply even tighter with some Sellers being unwilling or unable to sell- Unwilling if the price wasn’t high enough anymore and unable if their current mortgage rate was 3% and they would be moving into an 8% rate. Given this, the decline in sales price would likely be a longer term gradual slope. If we see interest rates cool off

and come down into the 5% range then I think we will see a gradual uptick across the board in both sale prices, and demand. Buyers will have higher buying power and Sellers will have more incentive to make a move. 

As always, consult your agent and lender if you are considering buying or selling. Everyone’s situation is different so it's key to come up with a game plan that is tailored specifically to your circumstances. 

Everyone have a fantastic summer and go catch some fish for me!