01/9

Sometimes the biggest bang for your buck isn’t exactly what you were expecting.

According to Zillow’s recent report, those who bought a home with a value of $393,700 in January 2018 would likely only be able to afford a home worth $372,000 today to keep their monthly payment the same as they would at the beginning of last year – when mortgage rates were at 4.15%.

If homebuyers are altering their budgets to fit the current market, they could essentially be eliminating 5.4% of currently for-sale homes to keep up with their finances.

While December gave homebuyers some breathing room with lower mortgage rates, Zillow and the National Association of Realtors (NAR) both predict rates to rise again to an average of around 5.3% at some point in the new year.

We’ll have to keep an eye on the market as we enter 2019 – both in terms of number of inventory and affordability.