Better Housing Affordability Could Be Coming In 2024, According to RE/MAX President and CEO

After a tumultuous year in real estate, homebuyers and sellers alike are eager for insight on what’s to come in 2024.

RE/MAX President and CEO Nick Bailey shared his expert insights on the housing market during a recent episode of Bloomberg Talks, a podcast featuring conversations with the biggest names in finance, politics and entertainment.

Listen to the episode below:

Bailey points to the latest RE/MAX National Housing Report for current trends, such as that in November 2023, home sales dropped 9.8% compared to the month prior. The median sales price and number of new listings hitting the market dropped, too.

“A little bit of it is seasonality, but it’s no secret that interest rates have affected the real estate market this year,” he said, noting how rates on some 30-year conventional loans have dipped slightly below 7% in recent weeks.

Bailey is optimistic that more competitive rates could be on the horizon.

“That’s going to mean good things for buyers – and better affordability.”

However, fluctuating rates aren’t the only thing slowing down sales. Low housing supply is another important factor.

“The median sales price has fallen $5,000 since October, but it’s up $13,000 from where it was a year ago. And that’s all driven by the fact that we don’t have enough homes on the market,” Bailey explains. “The pent-up demand out there continues to grow. There are estimates that we have around 4.5 to five million homes that we’re short in the U.S. and new construction can’t come out of the ground fast enough – so it’s not just the rate.”

For more intel on what the market could look like in 2024 – and how first-time homebuyers may navigate it differently than other consumers – tune in to Bloomberg Talks and hear what else Bailey had to say.

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