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PEORIA – What does the real estate market in central Illinois look like for 2024?
Will there be more inventory now that interest rates are falling? And will more new homes be built this year now that product shortages are easing?
Two Peoria-area real estate agents weigh in.
Will 2024 be a buyer’s or seller’s market?
“I think it’s still gonna be more of a seller’s market because of the low inventory,” said Marilyn Kohn, a real estate agent with RE/MAX Traders. “That will drive the prices a little higher, but we have some homes doing price reductions, which shows that there’s maybe a correction taking place — and maybe the homes aren’t worth quite as much as people thought they were.”
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Mark Monge, a real estate agent with Jim Maloof REALTOR, said it depends on what price point the buyer is shopping.
“Higher price points are slower, and some entry level price points are still pretty busy. But we’re still at low inventory across the board, so some sellers are gonna be doing pretty good in 2024 because of the price point where they are at, while some sellers are gonna see a continuation of last year if they are in a price point where it is slower,” he said.
Is inventory still low and is that expected to change?
“I think inventory will remain low, but there’s been this pent-up demand for a while, so we’ll see what breaks out in the first quarter and early second quarter,” said Monge.
Interest rates might get some prospective buyers and sellers into the market, said Kohn.
“I’m hopeful that the inventory will come up because we really do need inventory – we have buyers out there that want houses, and we just don’t have enough,” she said. “Interest rates are back down, so somebody who is sitting on a four and a half or five percent home loan and didn’t make that move because they didn’t want to pay eight percent, maybe they’ll pay between six and seven to make that move. It’ll make it easier for people to put their homes on the market.”
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Should we expect the cost of homes continue to rise?
“I think we’ll see it remain steady where it is,” said Kohn. “If it goes up, it’ll probably go up a little bit. I don’t think we’re gonna see a sharp peak.”
Monge also expects prices to remain steady, though there have been increases in lower price points.
“There’s been a pullback of potential buyers in the market because of interest rates, and there’s been a pullback of new homes coming on the market because of interest rates also, which has created less demand for people to move. So it’s kind of equaled out, more or less,” he said. “That being said, a home that’s in the $500,000 to $750,000 range, I think prices are relatively stable. Homes that are in the $150,000 to $250,000 are seeing an increase.”
Will we be seeing more new construction in 2024?
“That depends on the builder cost,” said Kohn. “Several of the builders I’ve spoken to recently – and I encouraged them to start building spec homes because I think we could sell them very easily – said that the cost and availability of construction materials make it hard for them to duplicate a home they built two years ago and not have the price go up $50,000 to $75,000. … That narrows their buyer pool. The more they have to ask for the house, the fewer buyers they will have ask to look at it.”
Monge said that there is a demand for new construction, but not at what homes are costing to build right now.
“I think it depends entirely on interest rates and the cost to build,” he said.
More: Why are fewer new homes being constructed in the Peoria area?
What tips would agents give to those looking to buy a home in 2024?
“There are some buyers waiting on the sidelines to see if we ever get back to three or four percent interest rates, and I don’t think that’s ever gonna happen,” said Monge. “But I think there’s a buildup of buyers who are waiting for a positive sign that things are trending downward from where they were. We are at low six percents now – historically that’s great. It’s definitely on the lower end. But compared to three or four years ago, it’s on the higher end – we probably aren’t gonna get back to that any time soon.”
With more than 40 years in the business, Kohn has seen a lot of different markets. Buyers need to understand that there are always ups and downs. The best time to buy or sell should be based on individual need.
“People don’t need to be afraid to buy or sell,” she said. “In this kind of market, it’s just when you need to do it – that’s when you do it.”
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This article was originally published by a www.pjstar.com . Read the Original article here. .