Real estate experts: buyers should not be overly concerned with timing their purchase.

While it might be tempting to hold off on buying a property until a better deal arrives, there’s no guarantee that mortgage rates will drop or that homes will become more affordable in 2024, say real estate analysts and economists interviewed by CNBC Make It. Despite forecasts of lower mortgage rates in 2024, don’t expect them to bottom out to the record lows of the past decade, either, says Lawrence Yun, chief economist at the National Association of Realtors. “Returning to mortgage rates of 3% or 4% is not going to happen, in my view,” says Yun, who points out that historically rates have been higher. The low rates of 2020 and 2021 were “unique” and those that got them were “lucky,” he says. Plus, if “mortgage rates go back down to that level, people can always refinance their mortgages,” says Yun.

As for home prices, a price correction is largely expected to be short-lived due to a chronic shortage of homes. Declining mortgage rates could also stoke demand, which would likely push prices higher. It’s also important to note that real estate trends vary by region, which means that home prices in your area might not drop in either 2023 or 2024. “I wouldn’t necessarily wait around and see if you can get the best possible deal because timing the housing market is very difficult,” says Cristian deRitis, deputy chair economist at Moody’s Analytics. His firm predicts another 5% to 10% drop in home prices from their peak over the next 18 to 24 months, after which prices will start rising again. While professional house flippers might need to worry about short-term fluctuations in home prices and interest rates, regular homebuyers who plan to live in their homes more than five years should be less concerned about timing the market, he says. The short-term forecast for home prices is “a modest decline,” he says.

Source: CNBC