The Spring home-buying season has yet to spring to life.

Thanks to primarily to an unexpected rise in mortgage rates, which exacerbated affordability challenges the spring home-buying season is slow to move....

In my opinion when you look at our own local housing market, the first thing you see is limited inventory, which sustains the theory behind supply and demand. The limited supply the higher the demand and the the price as well. All you have to do is do a quick chick on the local market and you can see the higher end homes are still sitting there and the ones priced under $150,000 see to move quickly and there are not enough homes on the current spring market to make the home-buyers happy. UNDERSTANDABLY!!!!

The run-up of home mortgage rates, has affected the home market as well. Many buyers can't qualify for the more expensive home on the market and are sitting on the side lines...hoping and waiting for a home to call their own.

Sellers, still have the market benefit, with the limited inventory they can sit firm on their list price if the desire. I do think the bidding wars of homes selling over list price has ended, or at least I hope so.

Will the housing market finally recover in 2024?

Many things must unfold. First we need to see stronger inventory of homes for sale. The additional inventory, in turn, would ease the upward pressure on home prices, leveling them off, perhaps.

The mortgage rates need to go on the descent. Rapidly falling rates could create a surge of demand that could wipe away any inventory gain. It is better to see rate reductions happen at a metered pace.

I would love to see the housing market get a bit more "normal" trend, but I have been hoping for that for the past few years.