With mortgage rates climbing, inventory slowing, and inflation rising, people have been told
that it’s not time to buy a home. Marianna Vis, REALTOR® with Four Seasons Sotheby’s
International Realty, is a voice of reason in the storm.

“I’ve been in real estate for 22 years and have seen a lot of different markets,” she says. “Don’t
pay attention to national news. Pay attention to local news.” Assessing the local market is
essential when looking to sell or buy a home, and using a local lender that can offer a variety of
“loan types” emerging in this new market is essential.

Regardless of the market, people still need to live in and have a “home,” so home selling and
buying occurs in every market and in the forever-changing economic environment we live in.
Don’t put your housing needs on pause; just adjust your criteria and know that you can always
change those criteria in the future.

“The market isn’t crashing; it's adjusting back to the pre-COVID-19 time. Market prices will stabilize
vs. continue to escalate higher. It is still a seller’s market, but fall/winter pricing will even out
to a seller/buyer Market again,” says Marianna. Although there is still a shortage of inventory,
don’t be deterred. “Anyone who is buying or selling at this time of year is serious, and buyers
can take advantage of that and the pre-holiday period time to buy,” she says. “With the number
of offers decreasing in this market, buyers are more likely to secure the home they desire
because there is less competition in the fall market.”

Colby Boppel with Radius Financial Group sheds some light on interest rates. He explains, “The
Federal Reserve Board is anticipated to raise the federal reserve rate three times before year's end. While this alone does not cause mortgage rates to rise, historical data has shown that
mortgage rates will rise in anticipation of the Fed’s rate hikes. While economic data has
a significant bearing on mortgage rate trends, the intention of the Fed’s rate hike is to slow our
economy, inclusive of home price increases and borrowing velocity across all finance channels,
mortgages included. While the forecast is for mortgage rates to continue their rise, I personally
don’t expect the 30-year fixed rate to rise above 7%.”

Looking for a silver lining to the market? Consider the new mortgage options. One such option
is paying “discount points at closing, which allows a borrower to close at a fixed rate for the life
of the loan.”

Or consider temporary buydowns, which can lower a fixed rate by 1% or 2% during the first
years of their loan term. Radius financial group also offers a “Lock and Shop” program, which
allows borrowers to lock into a rate while searching for a home. They also rolled out their own
bridge loan program, which has not been available in the real estate market for quite some
time.

“There are still great opportunities for buyers and sellers in this market,” says Marianna. “Don’t
wait. If you wait, you lose. Real estate is a real/hard asset, so while it’s an asset, it is also your
home base … don’t wait to live.”

Marianna (Mate-y) Vis
Four Seasons Sotheby’s International Realty
166 S. River Road, Bedford, NH 03110
C: 603-860-8115 

O: 603-413-7600
www.NHmoves.com