Just because 20 and 30-year fixed mortgage rates have tumbled in recent days, doesn’t mean it’s the right time to buy or sell your home, according to one real estate expert.
"The people that are buying the bonds that actually support the 30-year mortgage are doing a flee to safety," Carroll founder and CEO Patrick Carroll said on "Mornings with Maria" Thursday. "They're afraid of all the things that are out there that really nobody can predict."
As the 20-year fixed rate fell to 4.5% on Tuesday, the 30-year fixed rate saw its largest weekly decline since 2020 after reaching 5.43%.
The real estate investor expressed he doesn’t believe declining mortgage rates will juice a demand for home buyers and sellers, anticipating more rate hikes from the Federal Reserve.
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"I think waiting on the sidelines a little bit could be a good play," Carroll responded when asked whether the low rates mean it’s a good time to buy or sell.
Investors’ biggest worry, according to Carroll, remains Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine and its impact on markets.
"As I talk to investors, that's their number one fear," the real estate expert said. "You might be seeing the bonds react temporarily, but I think over time they're going back up."
Predicting mortgage rates will climb upward in the long-term, Carroll noted that could mean prices of single-family homes, which experts have warned are in scarcely low inventory, will decrease.
"My prediction is prices are going down in the single-family home market; that's why we're investing in the multifamily market as it gets more expensive to buy," Carroll explained. "You see people renting and renting longer."
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Private equity groups like BlackRock buying single-family homes is the "number one driver" pricing out first-time home buyers in America, according to the investor who’s started offering multi-family housing options to the typical first-time home buyer.
"There is no starter home market, essentially, anymore," Carroll said. "You're definitely seeing the effect of the institutional buyer snapping up homes."
