If you're thinking about buying a home around Burleson, Joshua, Cleburne, or anywhere else I work in Johnson and Hood counties, you've probably noticed the headlines about mortgage rates and wondered if now is really a smart time to jump in. I want to walk you through what the actual numbers in our area look like right now, not just the national chatter, so you can make a decision that fits your situation.
Mortgage rates have ticked back up over the past week. As of November 10, the daily average on a 30-year fixed loan sat at 7.30%, according to Mortgage News Daily, up almost a full point from the same time last year. Freddie Mac's weekly survey, which tends to move a little slower, had the 30-year fixed at 7.18% for the first week of November. Rates like this understandably give buyers pause, but they're also part of why inventory and negotiating room have opened up in our market.
Here's the part that matters more for buyers in Johnson County specifically. According to Redfin's county data, the median sale price in September was $314,297, down 3.6% from a year earlier, and homes sold for an average of 97.5% of list price. Just under a quarter of active listings, 23.2%, had taken a price cut. Homes are also moving a bit faster than they were a year ago, with a median of 73 days on market compared to 84 last November. That combination, more price flexibility plus a slightly quicker pace, tells me sellers who priced correctly from the start are finding buyers, while overpriced listings sit for a while and then get adjusted. Either way, there's real room to negotiate if you know where to look.
Across the broader Dallas-Fort Worth region, the MetroTex Association of REALTORS has described the market as stabilizing rather than cooling or heating up, with Fort Worth-Arlington actually posting a small 0.2% year-over-year price gain, one of the few major Texas markets to do so. So while you'll hear a lot of generic talk about a buyer's market, the reality here is more nuanced. It's a market where preparation and the right offer strategy matter more than the label you put on it.
So what should you actually do with this information? First, don't fixate on the rate alone. Ask about seller-paid rate buydowns as part of your offer. Depending on your loan type, sellers can typically contribute toward your closing costs or a rate buydown, up to 3% on a conventional loan with less than 10% down, more with a larger down payment, up to 6% on an FHA loan, or up to 4% on a VA loan. Those limits come from the loan programs themselves, and I walk every buyer through exactly what applies to their situation before we write an offer.
Second, use the price-cut data to your advantage. If a home has already had one reduction, that's useful information going into a conversation about where the seller's real bottom line might be. I pull that history for every property my clients are considering before we decide on a number.
Third, don't wait for a perfect rate that may never come. With inventory up and days on market longer than peak years, you have time to actually think through a purchase instead of racing the market, which is a much healthier way to buy a home.
If you're weighing whether now is the right time for you, I'd rather talk through your specific numbers than guess. Call or text me at (817) 240-1157, or grab a time on my calendar and let's look at what's out there together.