With mortgage rates trending down, is now a good time to buy a house?

Published April 10, 2023 at 4:00 AM EDT

Image of two-story home with "for sale" sign out front. — FILE - In this, Tuesday, March 12, 2013, photo, a sold sign is posted in front of a home for sale in Mariemont, Ohio. From household wealth to spending at stores, many of the U.S. economy’s vital signs have recovered from the damage done by the Great Recession. While the housing market is improving, that engine of economic growth and job creation still has far to go before it can be deemed healthy.

Mortgage rates have been getting lower as the spring home-buying season begins.

FreddieMac's weekly survey of mortgage lenders listed the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage at 6.28% as of April 6.

That's lower than a four-week average of 6.41%, but higher than a 52-week average of 6.01%.

Still, lower rates don’t mean it's smooth sailing in the residential real estate market. Some communities still have a small number of homes for sale, especially at an affordable price for first-time buyers.

On Cincinnati Edition, we’ discuss whether it's a good time to buy a home, and what first-time homebuyers need to consider.

Guests:

Aarthi Swaminathan, MarketWatch reporter
Darrick Dansby, president, Greater Cincinnati Realtist Association
Rick Williams, president and CEO, Home Ownership Center of Greater Cincinnati

The Greater Cincinnati Realtist Association will have a free homeownership fair on April 15 at the Evanston Recreation Center. Details are available online.

Listen to Cincinnati Edition live at noon M-F. Audio for this segment will be uploaded after 4 p.m. ET.

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