High interest rates are a mixed bag for buyers as real estate market continues to change

SEATTLE — The real estate market is changing fast according to Redfin.

Their latest report says higher interest rates are both helping and hurting buyers.

“A year ago, buying the typical home would cost about $1,700 (a month),” Redfin deputy chief economist Taylor Marr said. “Right now, it’s costing around $2,400, which is about a 42 percent increase, so it’s a massive increase.”

But fewer people are able to buy a home, which means sellers can’t expect a flood of offers like just six months ago.

“Sellers are really losing power,” Marr said. “They are having to drop their price increasingly. Buyers are able to leave in contingencies, but don’t call it a buyer’s market because it’s really not very favorable to them.”

The million-dollar question, literally for some recent buyers, did they buy at the wrong time?

“I think some people will have regrets that they bought right at the peak, at that time,” Marr admitted. “The think is though, most people are going to stay in their home for 11, 12, 13 years on average and so even if home prices did fall in that market, in that neighborhood that they bought in by 5 percent, even 10 percent, over the long run, most people will be fine.”

What even the real estate pros know for sure, is no one knows what will happen next in the real estate market.