CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas —
Going into the new year may have some people wanting to start a new journey. Some may even have their eyes set on buying a new home.
To start the new year, the CEO of Corpus Christi Association of Realtors, Brian Morales talked to 3NEWS about the city's 2023 housing market and what to expect in 2024.
"The market itself is down. So, you're seeing fewer sales, fewer closings. Overall, value market is down. Prices, however, have continued to stay strong," Morales said.
He said one of the main reasons the local market is down is because of increased mortgage rates. Those mortgage rates are something that he said was at an all-time low during the COVID era.
"Since that time mortgage rates have gone up from two, two and a half percent, all the way up to seven and eight percent and that's been the case for the last year or so. When you have those rates, it just gets more expensive for those folks who are trying to get a mortgage to afford their homes," he said.
The National Association of Realtors' chief economist predicts the country could be seeing a 13% increase in homes sales in 2024.
That, Morales said, will most likely be because of the interest rate reductions.
"A lot of people are predicting in the next year, over the next 12 months, that the fed will be reducing their interest rates. When those rates go down, mortgage rates typically follow, so we may see some lower mortgage rates in 2024, which may increase that demand again," he said.
Though mortgage rates were up in 2023, Morales said local home prices fell. Economists at real estate company, Redfin also say home prices are expected to fall in the second and third quarters of this year.
"Price is down from 2022. The middle of the year is when we saw the peak in the median price in our local market. Since that time, it has come down a little bit and we had a little bit of a dip early in the year in the first quarter, but since then, it's sort of hit a plateau and stayed relatively stable for the last nine months," said Morales.
When considering these trends, Morales said that it's important for homebuyers to remember that each property and neighborhood are different. To best fit your needs, he recommends going through a realtor to find a home that best fits your needs.