Q1 was strong for buyers and sellers in Chester County. Here's what the Iran conflict means for mortgage rates this spring and what to expect next.

We just wrapped up the first quarter and wanted to give you a quick update on what we're seeing in the Chester County market and where mortgage rates are headed this spring.

The good news is that Q1 was a strong quarter for us. We helped more buyers and sellers in January, February, and March than we did at this time last year. A lot of people assume the market has tightened up, but that hasn't been our experience. It's been a very positive start to the year.

We sat down with Matt Stancato from Guild Mortgage to talk about rates, and he's seeing the same thing. His team is ahead of where they were last year by about 33%. There are a lot of buyers getting ready to purchase heading into April, with a wave of contracts expected for May. The market is heating up.

Where are rates right now? Rates are a little higher than they were earlier in the first quarter, and the reason comes down to what's happening overseas. The conflict in Iran has driven rates up because military spending increases inflation, and military activity in the Middle East pushes oil prices higher due to supply and demand. Both of those factors lead to increased inflation, and increased inflation leads to higher rates.

“The underlying dynamics of the market say rates should continue to go down. The short-term volatility is coming from geopolitics, not the housing market.”

What about the ceasefire? Right now, we're in the middle of a two-week ceasefire pause. If it leads to a full cessation of hostilities, rates should recover fairly quickly. If hostilities continue, there will likely be a delay before rates come back down. But either way, the underlying dynamics of the market suggest that rates should continue to trend downward once the noise from the Iran conflict settles.

That's an important takeaway for buyers. The fundamentals are pointing in the right direction. The short-term volatility is being driven by geopolitics, not by weakness in the housing market itself.

If you're thinking about buying or selling this spring, we're ready to go. And if you want to explore what's available in terms of buying programs, Matt has some excellent options worth looking into.

Reach out to us at (610) 549-4435 or email beth@steinrealtygroup.com. You can also visit steinrealtygroup.com/blog for more updates. And if you want to connect with Matt directly about rates or buying programs, email him at matt.stancato@guildmortgage.net. We'd love to help you make your move this spring.

And stay tuned for the Ringer Run in June. After 10 years, this will be the final one, so we'd love to see you there. More details coming soon.