More than a third of home sellers affiliated with Coldwell Banker-owned agencies are keeping mortgage rates below 5% and plan to go public as early as this spring, new survey data shows, an early sign that the lock-in effect may be easing.
More than one in three home sellers affiliated with Coldwell Banker-affiliated agents have mortgage rates below 5% and are still planning to go public this spring, according to a new report from Coldwell Banker Real Estate.
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The findings are based on a survey of 727 agents affiliated with Coldwell Banker conducted from March 23 to April 6. About 43% of those agents reported that this spring’s home shopping season was busier than last year.
However, the lock-in effect has not disappeared. About 61 percent of agents said it remains a major or moderate factor in seller decision-making, and 39 percent said it was not a major or only a minor factor.
Jason Waugh
“It will take time to overcome the lock-in effect,” said Jason Waugh, president of Coldwell Banker Affiliates. “However, we are beginning to see early signs that the economy is loosening, particularly in the Midwest and West, which could have a significant impact on inventories.”
The survey identified personal life circumstances, rather than market timing, as the main factor in listing, with 36% of agents citing it as the main reason for selling their clients.
Other data from Redfin confirms early spring momentum. Redfin reported that the number of new listings rose 3% year over year in the four weeks ending April 19, the biggest increase since November, while the number of mortgage purchase applications rose 10% from the previous week.
The average weekly interest rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage fell to 6.3% as of the week ending April 16, down from a six-month high two weeks ago, according to Freddie Mac data cited by Redfin.
Still, Redfin said this season got off to a slow start. Pending home sales decreased 1.2% year-over-year during the same period, and the median sales price increased 2% to $394,687.
The Coldwell Banker report also pointed to deepening regional disparities. About 70 percent of agents in the Midwest and 74 percent in the Northeast perceive their market to be a seller’s market, compared to 13 percent in the South and 22 percent in the West. About half of agents in the South (56%) and West (46%) described their market as a buyer’s market.
According to the study, “comeback buyers” who paused their home search and re-entered the market within the past two years make up about 20% of current homebuyers who work with agents affiliated with Coldwell Banker. Approximately 75% of agents working with these buyers say they come back with about the same budget.
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