You heard it here first, but since Shark Tank real estate mogul Barbara Corcoran just said it, I thought it bore repeating.

In a recent interview with Neil Cavuto on Fox Business, Corcoran said, “If rates go down just another percentage point which is what I’m hoping for by year-end, prices are going to go through the roof. And the reason for that is because everyone will come out and buy.”

Back in December, I admitted that buyers have a strategic decision to make—when to enter the market. “Because once that tipping point, in terms of interest rates happens, buyers will be coming out of the gate in droves and we may see bidding wars again like we did in the pandemic.”

Corcoran thinks there could be 10 buyers on the sidelines for every one active in the market, just waiting for the interest rate to drop. So, when they all come racing in, what happens?

“If you wait for interest rates to come down by another point, I don’t think you’ll gain,” Corcoran explains. “I think you’ll wind up paying more. I wouldn’t be surprised if real estate went up by another 8 or 9 percent if interest rates come down another point.”

What Corcoran and I are saying is that there is an opportunity cost to waiting. Take the median sales price in Lake Oswego in March at $975,000. If Corcoran’s prediction comes true and real estate goes up by another 8 percent, the median-priced home will increase $78,000 to $1,053,000. Even at a more moderate and typical increase in Lake Oswego of 4 percent, that median-priced home will cost a buyer $39,000 more due to waiting.

Playing into just the normal appreciation of real estate will be the increased demand that lower interest rates will generate. A drop in rates will be just the trigger that sends sideline buyers into the market, making competition even greater in what has been a market influenced by a housing shortage.

Even in March of this year, 31% of the homes sold in Lake Oswego were over the original asking price and the median sales price for March was 13% higher than last year. And that’s without the bidding wars of the pandemic!  The value has been and always will be here in Lake Oswego so if you are ready to move, I’d encourage you to act now if you find a home within your budget. You can trust that values in Lake Oswego are going to hold, and when interest rates go down, you can look to refinance. Missed opportunities now most likely will cost you more later.

Let us help you decide your strategy for when it’s best to buy or sell your home. A father-daughter team, we have lived and worked in Lake Oswego and the Portland Metro area for over 30 years and would love to put our experience, connections and perspective to work for you! Please get in touch.

Kevin Costello  kevin.costello@cascadehassonsir.com 503.939.9801

Riley Costello riley.costello@cascadehassonsir.com 971.322.6205