Spring Forecast: What Buyers and Sellers Need to Know

Now that we're a few months into the year, what are the experts predicting for spring?

Hi, I'm Tanja Odzak, Realtor with eXp Realty, helping people sell and buy homes right here in the East Bay for the last 10 years.

Interest rates were expected to stabilize or dip slightly heading into spring, after a couple of volatile years. Lower rates would mean more affordability for buyers and more demand for sellers. Inventory was expected to increase slightly compared to the year before, still a low-inventory market overall, but more options for buyers and more competition for sellers, making correct pricing and real marketing key.

Home prices were expected to hold steady, growth slowing but values staying strong, good for sellers, and a reason for buyers to act sooner rather than wait for prices to potentially rise again. Buyers were also expected to gain some negotiation power as more homes hit the market, more price negotiations, seller concessions, and closing cost assistance.

Spring is always a hot season, better weather, more listings, buyers eager to move before summer, so competition was expected to pick up. For buyers, that meant getting pre-approved early and writing strong offers. For sellers, prepping the home to stand out.

I'm Tanja Odzak, and I've sold over $100 million worth of homes with a decade of experience in the East Bay. If you're thinking about buying or selling this spring, let's talk about your plan.