There's something happening in the market right now that really will impact your sellers. And that is interest rates are starting to climb a little bit.

When interest rates climb, it affects sellers in two different key ways:

1. It affects what's called buying power of all the buyers in the marketplace.

Here's what that looks like when you're talking about buying power:

If you're a buyer who is going to get a loan of, let's say $300,000, and you had your average down payment that would equal a payment and interest charge of about $1,225 per month. Now that interest rates have come up about a half percent, what does that mean for you?

If you still want to have that same payment, roughly $1225 a month of principal and interest, your buying power actually goes down because interest rates have gone up. You can no longer afford the $300,000 mortgage. Now you can only afford $285,000.

This puts "pricing pressure" on the market.

Now we know...

The National Association of REALTORS® shows that home affordability is better than it's been in the last four years.

So what does that mean?

It means that they measure what it would take for the median family in the country and their median income versus the median sales price and the interest rates that you would have to pay in this market. And they come up with how affordable it is to own a home.

The baseline number is 100. In other words, families have 100% of the median income needed to buy the median priced home in the marketplace.

Now guess what that number is today.

It's 187!

So homeowners on the median scale have 187% of what it would take for them to own a home in their marketplace.

Not only is this an amazing number, but it's much better than it was a year ago.

When we look at home prices going up, sometimes we can get in the trap of thinking that things are getting less affordable.

But the offset to this is interest...

One question we always receive as REALTORS is - What's going to happen next? What's the crystal ball for where prices are going over the next 12 months? 

According to the NAR, Zelman, Realtor.com, Freddie Mac, CoreLogic, Fannie Mae and the Mortgage Bankers Association, the average of all those top industry insiders and economists within those groups, their prediction for the next 12 months is that we're going to see appreciation at 3.9%. You might think that sounds low. After all we just went through a year where we had double digit appreciation and in many markets we saw appreciation as high as 15-16% . Why would this group of economists predict such a low number when most of us would reasonably expect it to be double digits or high single digits (at the very least).  

The reason is I think those economists know something - When you have a low supply and high demand, what happens? Prices go up. When supply increases, it puts pressure on...

What if I told you that there's a new opportunity in the market and no one's looking at? It's what I call a New Delta. A Delta is a point between two markets statistics which creates a gap, and that gap is opportunity. 

Interest rates are at a three year low which is great news for home buyers and for home sellers but who else might this benefit? 

Anyone who owns a home or investment property that may be in a position to refinance their property. For any of your clients that purchased a property as little as six months ago when interest rates were a full percentage point higher than they are today refinancing could be a huge opportunity to save tens of thousands of dollars. 

By reaching out to your database and making this value added call (which has nothing to do with you asking for anything from the client) you can be a hero and your clients will love you! 

Watch this quick video as Jim breaks down a simple script you can use as a text, phone call, social media post, or email. 

Do you need more leads, more listings, more buyers, and more closings? 

Explore Mastery Classes:

• Open House Mastery 
• For Sale by Owner Mastery
• Expired Listing Mastery
• Sphere of Influence...

As buyers watch the national news they are continually hearing about interest rates rising and the impact on payments, affordability, and the overall cost of buying a home.

This negative news can impact their motivation to move forward in purchasing a home and ultimately your ability to sell more homes. How do you respond to this challenge? 

Watch and learn how using good data (like the two charts below) can powerfully impact your conversations with buyers and using one simple script can put buyers at ease about moving forward with purchasing a home. 

(There is good news in both these graphs)

Ready for a new lead generation plan for 2019?

Explore Mastery Classes! 

• Open House Mastery 
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About Jim Remley:

Jim Remley is a nationally recognized expert in the field of residential real estate. Entering the real estate industry at the age of 19 he began an unlikely...

As real estate professionals we understand that higher interest rates have a direct impact on affordability. With the FED expected to raise rates three more times between now and the end of 2019 how is this changing the conversations you are having with buyers and sellers in the market? 

Watch and learn how one Seattle agent used a brilliant strategy to negotiate a successful sale for her buyer clients using interest rates as key negotiation tactic and how many agents are now talking about interest rates to secure price adjustments. 

Bonus: Also watch for two lead generation strategies that can unlock more transactions - Geo Farming Using Instagram and Voice Mail Drops! 

Are you ready for a real estate coach? Explore Mastery Classes that can help design the career and the life you deserve including:

• Sphere of Influence
• For Sale by Owner 
• Open Houses
• Expired Listings
• Business Planning

About Jim Remley:

Jim Remley is a nationally recognized...