News can be SO negative, and that’s especially true of media attention on the real estate market lately. So is the sky really falling? No!  In fact, our Compass CEO projects that we’ve already hit the bottom. As we progress further into 2023, we’ll begin to see a market improvement. (In fact, we already have)! “For the first time in 10 months, all the statistics I look at are trending positively.”  – Compass CEO Robert Reffkin, CNBC So what’s prompting this sentiment? Here are the 6 reasons why we believe Q4 of 2022 was the bottom of the recent real estate market cycle. 1. We’re seeing a 25% increase in weekly mortgage applications. 2. Mortgage rates continue to move down to a 4-month low. 3. We’re seeing an increase in buyer interest, open house traffic, and offers. (This is so true in Houston)! 4. In the last quarter of 2022, 42% of sellers were giving concessions to buyers at the closing table, a 10-year high. 5. Home builder sentiment improved for the first time in 1 year. 6. Pending closings were down 30+% at points in the fall but over the last few weeks, we have seen pending listings in most of our markets nearly flat year over year.  All signs are pointing to good gains in home sales in the coming months. We still need more listings, so that continues to be a challenge. But as rates come down, buyer demand is certainly there.  If you have questions about market forecasts and trends, or anything else real estate-related, please reach out! #realestate #houstonrealestate #marketforecast #housingmarketupdates