Pandemic and affordable mortgage rates encouraging more people to move
Mortgage rates continue to fall. 30 year fixed-rate loans slid, this week, below 3% for the first time in more than a year. That 'affordable' money adding fuel to a growing trend of people looking to move.
The Postal Service says 16 million households changed addresses in the first half of 2020, alone, as the desire to get out of big cities has people looking to warmer climates and affordable places to live.
'They are sunbelt cities, like Phoenix. We're seeing cities like Boise, Salt Lake, that are just booming, right now," says Credible.com personal finance expert Dan Roccato.
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Roccato says there's some homework for those thinking about a move. It starts with a budget that can get more dramatic for longer journeys or bigger homes. Taxes, mortgage rates, everyday expenses all have to be factored in.
"This is not something you're going to decide overnight," says Roccato, "You're leaving your current support structure, so we want to think longer term, rather than the next couple weeks or months."
Those comings and goings can affect people who weren't planning to move, as well. With current home inventories very tight, there can be a lot of demand in some neighborhoods. It presents an opportunity for homeowners to weigh the pros and cons of selling, consider some cosmetic renovations, and cash-in on a hungry pool of buyers.
"Listen, it is a sellers market," encourages Roccato, "You're going to get top dollar. Let's do some cosmetics; let's get as much as we can out of it; ring the cash register while the market's hot."
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A warning, though, that those who do elect to sell will need their own plan to find someplace new. The same 'sellers market' that they try to take advantage of, could well take advantage of them
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