Now that the Presidential election is behind us, I am optimistic that buyers will stop holding
their breath and look at buying homes again; however, interest rates will need to drop if we want to see
our housing market turn before the holidays.

With Thanksgiving just around the corner and interest rates hovering around 7% on a 30-year
mortgage, I am not anticipating that we will close out 2024 with a bang, but if the mortgage rates follow
the recent .25% drop in interest rates, we may see a swing in the right direction.

While Houston’s economy remains strong with oil prices just under $70 a barrel, buyer
confidence remains low with high home prices and high interest rates. Most buyers are playing the
waiting game and sellers that have to sell are slowly dropping prices,

For the first time in years, I have advised some of my sellers to take their homes off the market
and wait until interest rates drop. Keeping Current Matters, one of our resources for market insights,
predicts that interest rates tend to drop after a presidential election and home prices go up. If this is the
case, this is the time to buy a home, and if you do not have to sell, it may be the time to wait.

According to HAR, the inventory of homes for sale in Houston rose from a 3.4 month supply to a
4.4 month’s supply—the highest we have seen in 2 decades! “A 3.5- to 4.0-month supply is considered a
balanced market, where neither seller nor buyer has an advantage. With inventory exceeding four
months, Houston has shifted from a seller’s market to a buyer’s market,” cites the article in the Greater
Houston Partnership.

While Energy Realty continues to sell homes at a steady pace, we have felt the impact of the
slower housing market in 2024 and expect our numbers to be down by 20% by the end of the year.
However, we do anticipate that 2025 will be another stellar year for home sales and our agents are
gearing up with additional marketing and training so that we can provide top-notch service for our
clients in any market.