{"id":189996,"date":"2026-02-05T15:53:27","date_gmt":"2026-02-05T15:53:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tahrir2day.com\/news\/2026\/02\/05\/why-now-is-a-good-time-to-start-house-hunting\/"},"modified":"2026-02-05T15:53:27","modified_gmt":"2026-02-05T15:53:27","slug":"why-now-is-a-good-time-to-start-house-hunting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tahrir2day.com\/news\/2026\/02\/05\/why-now-is-a-good-time-to-start-house-hunting\/","title":{"rendered":"Why now is a good time to start house-hunting"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Homes are getting modestly more affordable for Americans.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Residential real estate prices have dropped every month since July, with January marking the sixth consecutive month of declines, according\u00a0to new figures from Zillow.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Two factors explain the dip in home prices. First, seasonal factors are playing a role.<\/p>\n

“Home prices tend to peak in July and then come down,” Zillow chief economist Mischa Fisher told CBS News.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Second, demand from buyers remains relatively weak, forcing home sellers to drop their prices.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“Buyers are having a hard time with labor market uncertainty, and with mortgage rates, which aren’t close to what they used to be,” Fisher said.<\/p>\n

The average mortgage rate<\/span> is just under 7%, more than double the roughly 3% rates that prevailed during the pandemic.\u00a0<\/p>\n

To be sure, Zillow’s home price index dropped 0.4% from December to January, while home values remain 0.2% higher compared with a year ago. The typical U.S. home is currently valued at $358,968, according to the real estate firm.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Fisher noted that Zillow expects 20 of the nation’s major housing markets to be more affordable this year than they have been since 2020. The firm considers homes affordable when a typical buyer can purchase a house for less than one-third of their income.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In a plus for house-hunters, more homeowners are putting their properties up for sale. In January, more than 1.2 million homes were listed, up 6% compared to the same period a year ago, Zillow data shows.<\/p>\n

“That is good news for buyers. If you’ve been waiting to buy, now is a good time to be looking,” Fisher told CBS News. “You’ll have more to choose from, and you can afford more.”<\/p>\n

In a separate forecast, Realtor.com recently predicted that home prices would dip in 22 of the 100 largest cities around the U.S<\/span>.<\/p>\n

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