Well the big news in our family (and on our team) is that Matt is hanging up his real estate shoes after 5 1/2 years and moving to Louisville, KY with his family, where he will attend Seminary. It's a big step to go back to school full time for 2 1/2 years with two young children, and requires just as much faith and commitment from his wife (Darian) as it does Matt. Liz and I both thought he'd end up a minister or missionary as far back as high school, and are proud of Matt and his family. However, we'll certainly miss being 15 minutes from the grandkids as opposed to 7 1/2 hrs.

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HOME VALUES
Home values in the Charlotte area increased 21.4% in 2021. Previously I thought they would slow down to a more normal 5-6% in 2022. Zillow, though, is now forecasting an 11% increase in home values nationwide and has rated Charlotte the 5th hottest market in 2022 with a projected home value increase of another 21% in 2022.

 

BUYERS OR SELLERS?

Our area continues to have an extremely low inventory of homes with most new listings resulting in multiple offers and selling for over full price. I don't see this changing for 2022 and expect to remain in a strong sellers market.

 

INTEREST RATES

I asked William Roseberry (our preferred lender) for an uncomplicated interest rate forecast. The short version: they are going up a little. 

The long version:

"Interest rates are going to be on an upward trend this year due to inflation. Initially the Federal Reserve thought inflation was “transitory” and would fix itself once the supply chains returned to normal. Unfortunately a new Covid variant (Omicron), has delayed that from happening. In order to prevent inflation from continuing to run high, the Federal Reserve has started buying less Treasury Bonds & Mortgage Backed Securities. The initial goal of buying Treasury bills and mortgage backed securities was to keep interest rates low. By reversing this course, interest rates have been going up. I would expect this upward trend in rates to continue until we find a way to fix our supply chain problems. We have seen a jump from 2.75% in Oct, to 3.25% in Dec, and now we are at 3.75%. This year we should stay in the high 3’s but could also see low 4% rates depending on whether inflation continues to run hot."

 

William Roseberry

Branch Manager

NMLS #68916

Office:  704-622-6896

www.RoseberryTeam.com

 

As always, please contact us if we can help with any questions you might have regarding buying or selling now and in the future. Liz and I are always glad to talk with you.