Add the prospect of rising interest rates to the pile of factors that real-estate professionals across Virginia are keeping an eye on, according to results from a new “flash survey” of members conducted by Virginia Realtors.
Nearly 30 percent of respondents to the survey said rising mortgage-interested rates “definitely” would impact the market, while another 50 percent said it would be an impact for some buyers.
Only 15 percent of respondents suggested higher interest rates would have little to no overall impact, while 5 percent of respondents were unsure.
For several years, mortgage-interest rates have been at near-historic lows, and even several rounds of increases might not bring them as high as traditional norms. But rising rates coupled with ever-increasing prices will leave some prospect buyers out in the cold.
The Virginia Realtors survey suggested that most of its members are finding a lack of inventory the most pressing concern. About 70 percent of respondents rated activity of sellers as “low to very low” in their communities, with only about 8 percent rating it “high to very high.”
More than 80 percent of respondents to the recent flash survey said a lack of inventory was the biggest challenge to the market, followed (well back) by high home prices, rising interest rates and buyers who don’t qualify.
Confidence in the near-term market, however, is “still at a very high level,” the flash survey revealed, despite a decline in total confidence after three months of gains.
Nearly 70 percent of respondents expect home prices to keep rising over the next three months.
Full data can be found at https://varealtors.org under “Research.”