What Rising Interest Rates Mean for Home Sellers in Riverdale & the Bronx

If you’re thinking about selling your home in the Bronx, you might be worried about what rising interest rates are going to mean for your sale.

Let’s start with the good news- even though interest rates are rising and are now higher than they’ve been in recent years (lookin’ at you, lucky buyers and re-fi-ers who got 2.5% rates last year!), housing inventory is still at historic lows across the country, creating lots of competition for properties.

Homes that are move-in ready (which means different things to different buyers, but typically includes a thoughtful renovation of bathrooms and the kitchen) are selling quickly. Single-family and multi-family houses are in high demand in the Bronx, especially those with a yard and parking.

Across the country, housing inventory is still at historic lows and buyers have less homes to choose from- compound that with the rising interest rates and the rising cost of rent, especially here in New York City and the Bronx, and you have a recipe for continued buyer demand.

The bad news is this- rising interest rates make housing less affordable for buyers. According to Realtor.com, the average borrower is paying 38% more per month now than they would have a year ago. So in addition to having less inventory to consider in their home search, if a buyer is taking out a mortgage on a property, it’s costing them a lot more to do so- adjusting budgets and taking a lot of buyers out of the marketplace and putting them back into the rental market.

How do you counteract rising interest rates when selling your home? It’s simple- like any other big challenge, you need to have a strategy in place before you start.

That strategy includes things like competitive pricing, beautiful staging, compelling photography & video marketing, broker outreach, and targeted advertising. It takes more than just a “list-and-pray” strategy to get a home sold these days.

It all starts with the right team on your side who knows your neighborhood, knows the comparable properties in the neighborhood, and knows how to best position your property against them to garner the highest and best offers possible.

If you think you need a strategic real estate agent to sell your home, let’s have a conversation and create a winning plan together.