New Year, New Home? Housing Market Gears Up for a Busy Year Ahead

As the housing market shuffles at a snail's pace, with homes taking more time to sell and pending sales at an all-time low, a glimmer of hope is on the horizon.

What Happened: Online searches for homes and requests for tours are on the rise, hinting at a resurgence in demand in the coming months, according to Redfin Corp.

The lull in sales may be short-lived as mortgage rates continue to drop, making homeownership more affordable for the average American, and inflation cools, bringing a sense of stability to the economy.

Despite a rocky start to the year, with high mortgage rates putting a damper on the housing market, buyers are now emerging from the shadows, ready to take the leap and secure their dream home.

If you’re a home buyer waiting to enter the market, new companies have innovative ways to help you earn passive income in the housing market. Here’s how to invest as little as $100 (or more, depending on your appetite) in a rental property to build long-term wealth.

Read also: Warren Buffett's Favorite Housing Metric Just Flashed A Major Signal: What To Watch In The Housing Market

“We’re entering 2023 with positive economic news,” said Redfin Deputy Chief Economist Taylor Marr. “The latest consumer price index report confirms that the worst of inflation is behind us. That means the Fed is likely to continue easing its interest-rate increases, which should cause mortgage rates to continue gradually declining. This could bring back some homebuyers in the coming months.”

Why It Matters: The ebb and flow of the housing market can be a tricky thing to navigate, but there are a few key indicators that can give us a sense of where it's headed.

For example, according to Redfin’s analysis, for the week ending January 12, mortgage rates took a dip, dropping from the previous week to a rate of 6.33%.

Meanwhile, mortgage-purchase applications were on the decline, hitting their lowest levels since 2014. Despite this, there were still plenty of people out there searching for a new home — searches for "homes for sale" were up nearly 50% from November lows.

Check Out More on Real Estate from Benzinga

• Bezos-Backed Startup Lets You Become A Landlord With $100
• Analysts Are Bullish On Industrial Real Estate: Here Are 2 Private Market Offerings To Gain Exposure
• This Little-Known REIT Is Producing Double-Digit Returns In A Bear Market: How?