April Market Update with Ryan Lamanna
Lions and tigers and tariffs oh my! The past couple weeks have been characterized by extreme volatility in the financial markets. We saw some of the biggest declines in the stock market that we’ve seen in the history of the stock market. We also saw some pretty epic rallies. We can thank the news around tariffs for the roller coaster ride we’ve been on of late. The markets were not expecting big tariffs, but we got big tariffs. And then the Trump Administration pressed pause on the tariffs. And then certain goods were excluded from tariffs. And the story continues…
Just as we were approaching 6.5% mortgage rates, news about the tariffs struck, and it likewise sent the bond market into a tizzy. Bonds sold off and now mortgage rates are back up around 7%. Despite the positive news on the inflation front- we got the latest inflation numbers on April 10, and the consumer price index (CPI) was 2.4% year over year and the CPI excluding food and energy was 2.8% (the lowest number we’ve seen since 2021)- rates are still up as tariffs are expected to effectively wipe out (and some) any improvement we’ve seen of late.
On the housing front, in Jackson County, we saw a trend reversal in closed sales year over year. We had been trending in the right direction with increases, which was expected coming off two down years in 2023 and 2024. However, now closed sales are decidedly down year over year- time will tell how things shake out, but the consensus seems to be that closed sales will be flat/down slightly in 2025 (on national basis). Days on market are up from 27 to 32 days. Prices are up over 2%. Rural prices are up over 3%. Inventory is up over 10%, but again most of the gains can be attributed to increases in rural inventory and new construction. For most buyers inventory feels tight. There’s still not a ton of choice.
Thank you very much for reading, and as always do not hesitate to contact me should you have any questions, comments and/or concerns.
I look forward to connecting with you soon.