{"id":354,"date":"2025-12-17T16:51:04","date_gmt":"2025-12-17T22:51:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/twilabertrand.sites.c21.homes\/?p=354"},"modified":"2025-12-17T16:51:04","modified_gmt":"2025-12-17T22:51:04","slug":"is-buyer-demand-picking-back-up-what-sellers-should-know","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/twilabertrand.sites.c21.homes\/?p=354","title":{"rendered":"Is Buyer Demand Picking Back Up? What Sellers Should Know."},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<div class=\"pt-8 px-8\">\n<h2 class=\"profile-color-text text-3xl\">Is Buyer Demand Picking Back Up? What Sellers Should Know.<\/h2>\n<div class=\"mt-6 text-base-content flex items-center flex-wrap gap-x-4 gap-y-2\"><span class=\"flex items-center flex-wrap gap-1\"><time class=\"text-base-content\" datetime=\"2025-12-17T11:30:00Z\">Wednesday December 17th, 2025<\/time><\/span><\/div>\n<div>.<\/div>\n<div class=\"mt-6 text-base-content flex items-center flex-wrap gap-x-4 gap-y-2\"><span class=\"flex items-center flex-wrap gap-1\"><a class=\"text-base-content\" href=\"https:\/\/www.simplifyingthemarket.com\/en\/category\/sellers\/?a=1000025117-654188f2b9e9f721433bea74f0bf3424\">For Sellers,<\/a><a class=\"text-base-content\" href=\"https:\/\/www.simplifyingthemarket.com\/en\/category\/selling-tips\/?a=1000025117-654188f2b9e9f721433bea74f0bf3424\">Selling Tips<\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<div>.<\/div>\n<div>Article from Keeping Current Matters<\/div>\n<div>.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"p-6 px-8\">\n<div class=\"grid grid-cols-3 sm:flex gap-1 flex-wrap w-fit sm:w-full my-4\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"mt-6 flex flex-col gap-4 mb-8\">\n<div class=\"mb-2\">\n<p>The housing market hasn\u2019t felt this energized in a long time \u2013 and the numbers backing that up are hard to ignore. Mortgage rates have eased almost a full percentage point this year, and that shift is starting to wake up buyers.<\/p>\n<p>Home loan applications have\u00a0<strong>risen<\/strong>. Activity has\u00a0<strong>picked up<\/strong>. And sellers who step in early could benefit from the momentum long before the competition catches on.<\/p>\n<p>Let\u2019s take a look at what\u2019s happening behind the scenes and how you can take advantage of it.<\/p>\n<h4><strong>When Rates Come Down, Buyer Activity Goes Up<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p><strong>In today\u2019s market, buyer demand is closely tied to what happens with mortgage rates.<\/strong>\u00a0As rates\u00a0<strong>come down<\/strong>, applications for home loans\u00a0<strong>go up<\/strong>. Rick Sharga, Founder and CEO of the\u00a0<em>CJ Patrick Company<\/em>, explains it like this:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><em>\u201cWe\u2019re in an incredibly rate-sensitive environment today, and\u00a0<\/em><strong><em>every time we\u2019ve seen mortgage rates drop into the low-to-mid 6% range, we\u2019ve seen an influx of buyers hit the market.<\/em><\/strong><em>\u201d<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>And that\u2019s exactly what the data shows. More people who were sidelined are applying for mortgages again now that borrowing costs have come down. Of course, that\u2019s going to ebb and flow just like rates ebb and flow. But the bigger picture is, there\u2019s been improvement as a whole since rates started coming down.<\/p>\n<p>In fact, the\u00a0<em>Mortgage Bankers Association<\/em>\u00a0(MBA) shows the\u00a0<em>Mortgage Purchase Index<\/em>\u00a0is hovering at the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.mba.org\/news-and-research\/newsroom\/news\/2025\/11\/26\/mortgage-applications-increase-in-latest-mba-weekly-survey\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>highest level<\/strong><\/a><strong>\u00a0so far this year:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/files.keepingcurrentmatters.com\/KeepingCurrentMatters\/content\/images\/20251211\/20251217-Homebuyer-Activity-Hovering-at-Highest-Level-in-2025-original.png\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/files.keepingcurrentmatters.com\/KeepingCurrentMatters\/content\/images\/20251211\/20251217-Homebuyer-Activity-Hovering-at-Highest-Level-in-2025-original.png\" alt=\"a graph of a line\" \/><\/a>And that&#8217;s not the only sign of optimism. MBA also shows\u00a0<strong>mortgage applications recently hit their highest point in almost 3 years too. A clear sign demand is moving in the right direction heading into\u00a0<\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.simplifyingthemarket.com\/2025\/11\/17\/the-housing-market-is-turning-a-corner-going-into-2026\/?a=1000025117-654188f2b9e9f721433bea74f0bf3424\"><strong>2026<\/strong><\/a><strong>:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/files.keepingcurrentmatters.com\/KeepingCurrentMatters\/content\/images\/20251211\/20251217-Buyer-Demand-Is-Trending-in-the-Right-Direction-Heading-into-2026-original.png\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/files.keepingcurrentmatters.com\/KeepingCurrentMatters\/content\/images\/20251211\/20251217-Buyer-Demand-Is-Trending-in-the-Right-Direction-Heading-into-2026-original.png\" alt=\"a graph with numbers and lines\" \/><\/a>And just in case you were wondering, it\u2019s not just pent-up demand coming out of the government shutdown that slowed some of the processing of government loans for a month or so. If you look back at the last graph, you\u2019ll see the steady build-up of momentum throughout the entire year.<\/p>\n<p>The big takeaway for you is this. Now that rates have come down, buyers are starting to ease back into the game. And that\u2019s turning into real contracts on homes just like yours.<\/p>\n<h4><strong>Home Sales Are Rebounding<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>Just to really drive home that this is trending in a good direction, the most\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nar.realtor\/research-and-statistics\/housing-statistics\/pending-home-sales\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">recent report<\/a>\u00a0from the\u00a0<em>National Association of Realtors<\/em>\u00a0(NAR) shows pending home sales (homes that are under contract) are picking up too.\u00a0<strong>The\u00a0<em>Pending Home Sales Index\u00a0<\/em>is also at the highest it\u2019s been all year<em>\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>(<em>see graph below<\/em>):<\/p>\n<p><strong><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/files.keepingcurrentmatters.com\/KeepingCurrentMatters\/content\/images\/20251211\/20251217-Pending-Home-Sales-Are-Ending-the-Year-on-a-High-Note-original.png\" \/>And that means the market is ending the year on a high note and headed into 2026 with renewed energy.\u00a0<\/strong>While that may not seem like a big shift, it\u2019s a rebound worth talking about.<\/p>\n<p>Pending home sales are a leading indicator of where actual sales are going. If more homes are going under contract, it\u2019s a good sign more homes will actually close over the next two months, ultimately boosting sales. This could be part of why experts project home sales will inch higher in 2026 than they were in 2025 or in 2024.<\/p>\n<p>Of course, this may ebb and flow a bit as we see some year-end volatility with mortgage rates. But, it shouldn\u2019t be enough to change this overall trend. Expert\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.simplifyingthemarket.com\/2025\/10\/15\/2026-housing-market-outlook\/?a=1000025117-654188f2b9e9f721433bea74f0bf3424\">forecasts<\/a>\u00a0say rates should stay pretty much where they are throughout 2026. That means the stage is set for this momentum to continue going into the new year.<\/p>\n<h4><strong>What This Means for You<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>Here\u2019s the opportunity. Selling now means:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>More buyer demand.<\/strong>\u00a0As affordability improves, you could see more buyer traffic and home showings (if your house is priced and staged right). And the best part? The buyers who are re-engaging feel like they\u2019ve already waited too long for this moment. So, they\u2019ll be eager to move.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Being ahead of the curve.<\/strong>\u00a0Listing sooner rather than later puts you ahead of the game, before other sellers realize something&#8217;s shifted.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Whether you\u2019ve been putting off selling because you thought buyers weren\u2019t buying, or you took your house off the market because you weren\u2019t getting any bites, this is your sign to act.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<h3 class=\"text-xl mb-2\">Bottom Line<\/h3>\n<p><strong>Want to know what&#8217;s happening with buyer activity in our area, and what it could mean if you want to sell your house in the new year?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Let\u2019s talk about getting your house listed in early 2026, so you can take advantage of this momentum building in the market.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p data-start=\"146\" data-end=\"263\"><strong data-start=\"146\" data-end=\"174\">Twila Bertrand, REALTOR\u00ae<\/strong><br data-start=\"174\" data-end=\"177\" \/>Experienced &amp; Trusted Real Estate Agent in <strong data-start=\"220\" data-end=\"234\">Lufkin, TX<\/strong><br data-start=\"234\" data-end=\"237\" \/><strong data-start=\"237\" data-end=\"263\">CENTURY 21 Cota Realty<\/strong><\/p>\n<p data-start=\"265\" data-end=\"654\">Helping buyers and sellers confidently navigate the <strong data-start=\"317\" data-end=\"366\">Lufkin and Angelina County real estate market<\/strong> with strong local knowledge, honest guidance, and proven results. As a top-producing REALTOR\u00ae with <strong data-start=\"466\" data-end=\"492\">CENTURY 21 Cota Realty<\/strong>, I specialize in residential homes, acreage, and waterfront properties throughout <strong data-start=\"575\" data-end=\"653\">Lufkin, Huntington, Diboll, Pollok, and surrounding East Texas communities<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"656\" data-end=\"806\">\ud83d\udccd Lufkin, Texas<br data-start=\"672\" data-end=\"675\" \/>\ud83c\udfe1 Buying | Selling | Market Analysis | Local Expertise<br data-start=\"730\" data-end=\"733\" \/>\ud83d\udcde Call or Text: 936-208-7631<br data-start=\"762\" data-end=\"765\" \/>\ud83c\udf10 Visit: twilabertrand.sites.c21.homes<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"656\" data-end=\"806\">Check out my client testimonials on my Zillow website below:<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"656\" data-end=\"806\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.zillow.com\/profile\/Twila%20Bertrand\">https:\/\/www.zillow.com\/profile\/Twila%20Bertrand<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Is Buyer Demand Picking Back Up? What Sellers Should Know. Wednesday December 17th, 2025 . For Sellers,Selling Tips . Article from Keeping Current Matters . The housing market hasn\u2019t felt this energized in a long time \u2013 and the numbers backing that up are hard to ignore. Mortgage rates have eased almost a full percentage [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":194391,"featured_media":355,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[27,109,107,105,162,28,50,55,21,19,13,15,41,85,12,46],"class_list":["post-354","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-real-estate","tag-angelina-county-real-estate","tag-best-local-realtor","tag-best-real-estate-agent","tag-best-realtor-in-lufkin","tag-best-realtor-lufkin-tx","tag-buying-a-home","tag-buying-smart","tag-expert-advice","tag-real-estate-agent","tag-real-estate-lufkin","tag-real-estate-lufkin-huntington","tag-realtor","tag-savvy-investment","tag-sellers-agent","tag-texas-real-estate","tag-trust-the-pros"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/twilabertrand.sites.c21.homes\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/354","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/twilabertrand.sites.c21.homes\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/twilabertrand.sites.c21.homes\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/twilabertrand.sites.c21.homes\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/194391"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/twilabertrand.sites.c21.homes\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=354"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/twilabertrand.sites.c21.homes\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/354\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":357,"href":"https:\/\/twilabertrand.sites.c21.homes\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/354\/revisions\/357"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/twilabertrand.sites.c21.homes\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/355"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/twilabertrand.sites.c21.homes\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=354"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/twilabertrand.sites.c21.homes\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=354"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/twilabertrand.sites.c21.homes\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=354"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}