Blog — West + Main

Mortgage Rates Drop Today—the Lowest It’s Been in 2 Months

 
 

Mortgage rates this week experienced the most dramatic decrease since mid-December, signaling that despite the skyrocketing inflation and concerns over the Trump administration’s tariff policy, the housing market is turning more buyer-friendly.

The average rate on 30-year fixed home loans decreased to 6.76% for the week ending Feb. 27, down from 6.85% the week before, according to Freddie Mac. Rates averaged 6.94% the same week in 2024.

“This week, mortgage rates decreased to their lowest level in over two months,” says Freddie Mac Chief Economist Sam Khater. “The drop in mortgage rates, combined with modestly improving inventory, is an encouraging sign for consumers in the market to buy a home.”

Mortgage rates have hovered just below the 7% benchmark for several months now, and this trend is expected to continue for the foreseeable future.

“Though mortgage rates have fallen over the past several weeks and look a bit more promising to prospective homebuyers, we are far from the home finance environment of the post-pandemic homebuying frenzy when rates were below 4%, and we are unlikely to return,” says Realtor.com® Senior Economist Joel Berner.

Existing and new home sales have struggled to get off the ground in the first two months of 2025, in large part due to the high mortgage rates.

At the same time, elevated consumer inflation and the uncertainty surrounding President Donald Trump‘s oft-repeated threats to impose crushing tariffs on a wide array of imports, including vital construction materials, are doing nothing to boost the sagging housing market.

“Buyers, who are doing the budget math to find how much home they can afford under the pressure of high mortgage rates, and sellers, many of whom are unmotivated to move because of the favorable rates they purchased at a few years ago, are stuck in the mud early in 2025,” says Berner.

Mortgage rates are influenced by many different factors, including the 10-year Treasury yield, inflation, the overall health of the economy, as well as policy shifts.

Falling Treasury yield foretells slowdown

This week’s slight decline of mortgage rates closely followed the falling yield on the 10-year Treasury, pointing to an anticipated economic slowdown, which could be a blessing in disguise, according to Lisa Sturtevant, chief economist at Bright MLS, the regional listing service that covers the mid-Atlantic.

“Although a slowing economy may not seem like a good thing, lower rates could give the housing market the shot in the arm that it so desperately needs,” Sturtevant tells Realtor.com.

The economist predicts that mortgage rates will likely continue to decrease in the coming weeks but not drastically.

“A severe shock that leads to an economic recession could bring rates down faster, but that seems very unlikely at the moment,” adds Sturtevant. “Rather, consumers should accept rates that are volatile week-to-week, but that are gradually moving lower.”

Home prices falling as inventory grows

The latest weekly housing trends update on Realtor.com shows that the median home list price nationwide fell by 1% during the week ending on Feb. 22 from the same time last year.

This marks the 39th week in a row that the national median home list price has either remained flat or declined compared to the same week last year.

With would-be homebuyers continuing to sit on the sidelines, sellers are growing more attuned to the shifting market and are showing a willingness to slash prices in a bid to boost interest.

The share of homes for sale with price reductions was higher this month than in any February since 2016, reaching 16.8%, according to the Realtor.com February 2025 Monthly Housing Trends Report.

“For buyers, this trend presents an opportunity to secure homes at more favorable prices,” says Realtor.com Economic Data Manager Sabrina Speianu.

Meanwhile, new listings ticked up by 2.5% year over year, marking the seventh consecutive week of growth—and showing that home sellers are gaining confidence despite the high mortgage rates.

The overall number of homes for sale across the U.S. jumped by 27.7% compared to the same period in 2024. Combined with the steady influx of fresh inventory, that means house hunters have more options to choose from heading into the spring buying season.

Homes sitting unsold longer than before

For-sale homes waited for a buyer 11 days longer during the week ending on Feb. 22 compared to the same period last year—a trend that has persisted for 44 consecutive weeks.

With the inventory piling up, buyers have increasingly more options when shopping around for a home—and also more leverage, putting pressure on sellers to price competitively.

“Buyers are in a better position to take their time, thoroughly evaluate options, and negotiate deals that better suit their budgets,” says Speianu.

Overall, Realtor.com researchers predict that the real estate market may continue to soften; but at the same time, the lower prices could attract more customers this spring and get the inventory moving.

Read more at Yahoo

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Home Prices Are Finally Cooling: Nearly 17% of Sellers Are Slashing Prices as More Homes Linger on the Market

 
 

Home sellers continued cutting their prices in February in a bid to contend with a growing number of properties lingering on the market, along with stubbornly high 30-year fixed mortgage rates.

The share of housing inventory with price cuts was higher than in any February since 2016, reaching 16.8% after experiencing an uptick of more than 2 percentage points since last year, in what Realtor.com® Chief Economist Danielle Hale is calling a "highly unusual seasonal growth."

"This high share of price reductions could signal further price softening in the coming months as sellers adjust their expectations to market conditions," says Hale.

The February 2025 Monthly Housing Trends report from Realtor.com reveals that sellers are trying to adapt to the slower market, signaling that a cooldown in price growth could be just around the corner.

Regionally, the South and West saw the greatest surge in homes with price reductions at 2.1 and 2.5 percentage points, respectively, compared with last year. Meanwhile, the share of inventory with price cuts was just 0.2 percentage points higher in the Northeast and a modest 1.2 percentage points higher in the Midwest.

Overall, 45 of the nation's 50 largest metros saw the number of homes with price cuts increase since February 2024, up from 41 metros in January.

Denver saw the most dramatic jump, at 8 percentage points, followed by Charlotte, NC (+6.4 percentage points), and Tucson (+6.3 percentage points).

Homes are staying on the market longer

The typical home sat unsold for 66 days in February, which is five more days than the same time in 2024, suggesting that prospective homebuyers are in no rush to seal the deal.

This marks the 11th month in a row where homes spent more time on the market compared with the previous year. But the silver lining is that the time the median home spends on the market is still 11 days less than pre-pandemic levels.

Regionally, homes waited around for a buyer in the Midwest eight days more in February year over year, seven days more in the South, four in the West, and just two in the Northeast.

Overall, in all four regions, time on the market for a typical home was at or below pre-pandemic levels, according to Realtor.com researchers.

Overall home inventory and new listings are on the rise

In terms of inventory levels nationwide, there were 27.5% more homes actively for sale on a typical day in February compared with the same time in 2024, marking the 16th consecutive month of annual inventory growth.

Looking at the February figures, it becomes apparent that more homeowners have decided to take the plunge and put their property on the market, with new listings going up 5.1% above last year’s levels. However, this is a decrease from January’s uptick of 10.8%.

"This puts new listing activity at its highest February level since 2021," says Hale. "While rates remain elevated, it is possible that we might be seeing that chiseling effect starting as sellers may grow tired of waiting for significant changes in rates."

The Western market continued booming in February, with the number of listings skyrocketing by 37.4%. The South was a close second, with inventory growing by 29.9%.

Much like in January, the Midwest and Northeast struggled to catch up, with the number of listings increasing by 18.7% and 9.2%, respectively.

Turning to new listings, the West emerged as the indisputable leader, with fresh home stock surging by 14.4% year over year. In the South, new listings grew by a mere 3.7%, and they decreased by 3.2% in the Midwest and 3.4% in the Northeast.

Meanwhile, the number of pending listings, referring to homes under contract but not yet sold, continued to rebound nationwide in February, inching up 1.2% from the same time last year. It's still a far cry from December's gain of 7.4%.

Hale blames this slowdown at least in part on mortgage rates being higher in January and February compared with the previous months.

Looking ahead, Realtor.com economists predict in their 2025 forecast that with the waning of the "lock-in" effect, which has kept reluctant sellers on the sidelines, home sales should rise by 1.5% this year.

Smaller listings are lowering median home prices

The median price of homes for sale this February slipped 0.8% from last year, settling at $412,000. However, more small homes are hitting the market this year, causing the median list price to drop relative to 2024.

The median list price per square foot, which controls for size, went up by 1.2%, indicating that home values are shrinking.

The South saw the biggest drop in the median asking price, at 2%, followed by the West and Midwest, at 1.2% and 0.2%, respectively. In the Northeast, the median list price was flat.

If taking into consideration the size of the typical home by looking at price per square foot, prices grew by 2.9% in the Northeast, 1.6% in the Midwest, and 0.9% in the West, but were down 0.1% in the South, where inventory growth has been greatest.

Among large metros, Cleveland saw the biggest surge in the median list price, at 14%, followed by Providence, RI, at 7%, and Hartford, CT, at 6.6%.

Read more at Realtor.com

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I Easily Get Bored With My Home — 5 Simple Swaps I Always Make to Update My Space

 
 

It feels like I see a new home decor trend I’d like to try every other day. Whether it be a new shade of paint, a new decor style, or even a new design style entirely—there’s always something to try.

I get bored with my home pretty easily. I love a project but once all my DIYs are done, I’m ready to try something else in the span of a few months. This isn’t the most sustainable practice, but I’ve found ways to make it work for me. Here are 5 simple swaps I make to update my home yearly.

Changing Cabinet and Drawer Pulls

It may sound really simple, but that’s because it is! You don’t really realize how many knobs and pulls you have around your home once you get used to them, but swapping them out makes a big impact.

I love buying ornate ones from Etsy or even going to my local Home Depot to score more in bulk—but it really makes a difference, especially in an open floor plan with a visible kitchen.

Swapping Out Rugs

I love how a good rug can tie a whole room together, however, I often get bored with it the fastest. Whether it’s the material, the pattern (or lack of), or the size—something eventually needs to be changed.

Since rugs can really change the look of a whole room and add just the pop of color you need, rugs are usually my most-swapped thing. I will admit that I usually buy more affordable rugs, so that might also contribute to my choice to swap them out so often.

Moving Wall Art

This is the easiest thing to change in your home, and it doesn’t have to be yearly. I’m usually attached to my wall art, so it’s not something that I get rid of often.

Instead, I’ll move things around so they’re in a different orientation, or swap my art from room to room. That way, every room can still feel curated but will also look different enough for me to feel like a change was made.

Getting New Planters

I have a few plants scattered around my home, and I look at them pretty often to maintain their health—which means I get bored with their planters very quickly. I love thrifting for planters, and over the years, my taste has gotten more eclectic. Sometimes, my “old” planters are just things like mugs that could be reused elsewhere.

I normally keep my plants in plastic nursery pots, so making these swaps for my planters has very little impact on my plants’ overall health since they’re left undisturbed.

Swapping my planters often has also been an easy way for me to stay on-trend without breaking the budget, since these are some of the lower-cost items I usually change.

Changing Lighting

Even though lamps are pretty underrated, the impact their design can have on a room shouldn’t be ignored. I’ve taken my living room from drab to fab in seconds with just a well-placed ornate lamp.

Changing my lighting is two-fold: some years, I’ll swap out a lamp or two around the house, and other years, I’ll just change the kind of bulbs I use. I go through phases of preferring yellow lighting over white lighting, or even wanting colorful bulbs instead to liven up a room, so these get changed pretty often.

Read more at the spruce

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How To Buy a Home Without Waiting for Lower Rates

 
 

Many people are hoping mortgage rates will come down before they buy a home. But will that actually happen? According to the latest forecasts, experts say rates will decline, but not by as much as a lot of people want.

The good news? Even if they don’t drop substantially, there are still ways to make buying a home more affordable.

How Much Will Rates Drop?

A few months ago, experts were forecasting mortgage rates could dip below 6% by the end of the year. But recent projections suggest that may not happen after all.

While mortgage rates are still expected to decline some later this year, projections from Fannie Mae, the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), and Wells Fargo now show them stabilizing closer to 6.5% by the end of the year.

That means if you’re holding off on buying a home in hopes of much lower mortgage rates, you may be waiting a while. And if you need to move because something in your life has changed, like a new job, a new baby, or a marriage – waiting that long may not be an option.

Creative Financing Options in Today’s Market

Since rates aren’t expected to decline as much as originally expected, it may be worth considering alternative financing options that could help you get into a home sooner rather than later. Here are three strategies to discuss with your lender to see if any of these make sense for you:

1. Mortgage Buydowns

A mortgage buydown allows you to pay an upfront fee to lower your mortgage rate for a set period of time. This can be especially helpful if you want or need a lower monthly payment early on. In fact, 27% of agents say first-time homebuyers are increasingly requesting buydowns from sellers in order to buy a home right now.

2. Adjustable-Rate Mortgages

Adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) typically start with a lower mortgage rate than a traditional 30-year fixed mortgage. This makes them an attractive option, especially if you expect rates to drop in the coming years or plan to refinance later.

And if you remember the housing crash, know that today’s ARMs aren’t like the risky ones back then. Lance Lambert, Co-Founder of ResiClub, helps drive this point home by saying:

“. . . ARM products today are different from many of the products issued in the mid-2000s. Before 2008, lenders often approved ARMs based on borrowers ability to pay the initial lower interest rates. And sometimes they didn’t even check that (remember Ninja loans). Today, adjustable-rate borrowers qualify based on their ability to cover a higher monthly payment, not just the initial lower payment.”

In simple terms, banks used to give loans without checking to see if buyers could afford them. Now, lenders verify income, assets, and jobs, reducing the risks associated with ARMs compared to the past.

3. Assumable Mortgages

An assumable mortgage allows you to take over the seller’s existing loan — including its lower mortgage rate. And with more than 11 million homes qualifying for this option according to U.S. News, it’s worth exploring if you want or need a better rate.

Bottom Line

Waiting for a big decline in mortgage rates may not be the best strategy. Instead, options like buydowns, ARMs, or assumable mortgages could make homeownership more affordable right now. Connect with a local lender to explore what works for you.

Read more at Keeping Current Matters

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A Quick Guide To What’s Happening With Colorado’s Property Taxes

 
 

When it comes to property taxes, Colorado has been on a wild ride for the past few years. Spiking tax values prompted ballot measures and special legislative sessions, as policymakers and voters struggled to find the right formula to fund schools and local governments without overwhelming homeowners.

All of that led Jan Edwards of Denver to write in to Colorado Wonders recently, asking for help to tease apart exactly what all has happened with property taxes in the past few years. The questions she brought us are ones many Coloradans share.

Edwards bought her townhome in Denver a decade ago. She’s on a fairly fixed income and looking for ways to economize, especially as inflation has made many necessities more expensive. Her rising property taxes don’t make that easy.

“It's a scary time and people are struggling,” Edwards said. “And now their property taxes — what's going to happen here?”

What was the Gallagher Amendment, and how did getting rid of it contribute to the current situation?

Jan said she’d heard that the repeal of the Gallagher Amendment in 2020 is why taxes have spiked so rapidly, but she doesn’t even really remember seeing the issue on the ballot, and wants to understand now what policymakers were thinking when they urged voters to take this step.

For almost 40 years, the Gallagher Amendment acted as a brake on Colorado’s residential property tax rates. It dictated that residential properties would pay no more than 45 percent of the state’s total property taxes, with the rest paid by commercial property owners and others.

Over the years, as housing development boomed, the result was that homes were taxed at a lower and lower rate, to keep the equation in balance. That worked out OK in fast growing-urban areas, but in rural parts of the state where residential growth was slower, schools and local governments saw their tax base erode.

In order to stave off further cuts, Democrats and Republicans joined together in 2020 to ask Coloradans to repeal the amendment, which voters did by about 15 percentage points.

But without that limit on what share of the tax base residential property taxes were responsible for, and as pandemic migration trends caused home values to soar, property taxes spiked much faster than voters possibly ever imagined.

Was there a long term plan for what to do about property taxes, with Gallagher gone?

The short answer is, no. When Gallagher was repealed, neither voters nor lawmakers put anything in its place.

Instead, for the last four years, the legislature has scrambled to stay ahead of the roiling housing market and the ballooning effect it has on tax bills.

In 2021, lawmakers approved a two-year rate reduction.

In 2022, they enhanced and extended that temporary discount for an extra year.

In 2023, Democrats urged voters to pass permanent reductions, essentially paid for out of TABOR refunds. After that effort, known as Prop. HH, failed, Gov. Jared Polis convened a special session to approve more short-term tax reductions.

In 2024, lawmakers first passed a bipartisan, 11th-hour bill to permanently lower tax rates, and then met in another special session to cut them even further, after they came under pressure from a powerful conservative group that threatened to put even deeper cuts to voters at the ballot box

Public officials are hoping that the bill they passed last year will be a permanent fix; it contains a brake that caps how much property tax revenues can grow in a year, theoretically preventing the kinds of spikes the state saw right after the Gallagher repeal.

But then why are property taxes still going up?

There are two reasons Colorado homeowners are likely to still see higher property tax bills next year and beyond.

The first is that property values have continued to rise. They’re not booming the way they were earlier in the decade, but they do tend to increase from year to year, and so tax bills will increase with them.

The second reason is that the discounted rate passed in 2022 is going away. That temporary discount was actually bigger than the permanent savings put in place last year. So when it comes time to pay your taxes in 2026, the typical homeowner will see a several hundred dollar increase as the new rate kicks in. They will, however, be saving money compared to what would have happened if the legislature hadn’t lowered the permanent rate.

Is there anything homeowners can do?

For those who qualify, the Homestead Property Tax Exemption can help lower their tax bills. The exemption applies to people over 65, disabled veterans and Gold Star spouses. To get the exemption, homeowners have to apply to their county assessor.

For everyone, the state operates a program that allows people to defer some or all of the increase in their property tax bills if they grow at more than 4 percent over two years. The program works essentially like a low-income loan, and the deferred taxes will have to be paid back in full, eventually.

Read more at CPR News

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