Lennar Resource Center

Is now the best time to buy a new Lennar home?  According to a recent CNBC article by Diana Olick, homes are selling at a record pace this spring, thanks in large part to increasing demand and lower inventory. Whether you’re buying your first home or next home, you may not want to wait too long. Not only are homes selling quickly, but low mortgage rates help to make home buying more affordable. Strong demand can also benefit home sellers looking to move up into a new home. According to recent reports, the average home went under contract in just 49 days! 

Homes are flying off the shelves this spring, as demand rises and supply continues to drop.

Record high prices in some local markets are not thwarting hungry buyers, as they rush to take advantage of the lowest mortgage rates of the year.

Home sales jumped nearly 9 percent in March compared with March 2016, even as the number of homes for sale plunged 13 percent, according to a new report from Redfin, a national real estate firm.

That demand dynamic further increased competition in the market, resulting in the fastest average sales pace since Redfin began tracking in 2010. The typical home went under contract in just 49 days, down from 60 days a year ago.

Steep competition also pushed the median price of a home sold in March to $273,000, up 7.5 percent year over year.

“At some point consumer budgets will stagger behind the fast pace of price appreciation,” said Nela Richardson, Redfin’s chief economist. “The combination of low inventory, high prices and strong competition will continually challenge first-time buyers this year and they are the cornerstone of the housing market.”

Homebuilders are benefiting from the lack of supply of existing homes for sale. Mortgage applications to purchase a newly built home in March were up 6.7 percent compared with a year ago to the highest level since the Mortgage Bankers Association began tracking this metric in 2012.

 

Read the full article: Homes this spring are selling faster than ever