It hasn’t been a great few months for real estate in the Houston area, or really anywhere in the U.S. As national consumer confidence in housing hit a 10-year-low in July, worries about inflation and recession sent Houston home sales to their lowest level since the beginning of the COVID epidemic. But that’s not bad news for everybody, says Noel Collier, local real estate expert and founder of Noel Collier Group. “I believe the market has shifted,” she explains. “First-time buyers were being beat out for two years, and now it’s their time to shine.”

At the beginning of the pandemic, historically low interest rates created a frenzy of what Collier calls “move-up/move-down” buyers: existing homeowners wanting to take advantage and buy a larger home or empty-nesters looking to sell and relocate to a smaller space for retirement. “When we saw interest rates start to trend upward, the world stood still. It stopped the frenzy,” Collier says. “It used to be that there were offers over asking on everything the day it hit the market. Now, people are more willing to negotiate because they see a recession coming.”

Another piece of good news for Houston’s first-time homebuyers is that supply-chain issues are easing: long waits for building materials, appliances and furniture are disappearing, accelerating new construction and renovations alike. “The supply chain problems have softened so much that homes we had scheduled to close in the winter are closing in August! Sales have gone down, and supply is also up,” Collier says. “Builders are knocking on our door trying to sell new constructions. Incentives from builders for agents and buyers that went away during the frenzy are back.”

High interest rates and an impending recession might sound scary for a prospective first-time homebuyer, but Collier thinks some of the recent slowing in housing might be a bit of an overreaction. “The interest rates going up rapidly caught a lot of people off-guard, but they’re still comparatively low: Eight percent was considered average for years, and we’re still nowhere near that,” she explains. “The difference between 2.5 and 5 percent on a mortgage payment is less than $200 a month. Rent is at an all-time high. If you’re a first-time homebuyer, you’re either paying 100% interest to rent or you’re building equity in your own home.”

Noel Collier is a top-performing realtor in Houston who founded her own boutique real estate agency, the Noel Collier Group, in 2019. As one of just five percent of Black-owned Realtors in the U.S., she is especially passionate about closing the generational homeownership gap among African Americans by helping families build wealth and knowledge to become homeowners.

A Texas Southern University graduate and mother of three, Collier left an accomplished executive career in software sales to pursue her passion for real estate and entrepreneurship. In just three years in business, the Noel Collier Group has made more than $50 million in sales in the Houston area. Collier also volunteers her time with Texas Southern University mentoring business students; hosts free community seminars to help people navigate the complicated waters of buying and selling a home; and sponsors nonprofit organizations that contribute to the betterment of youth, the community and society.

For more information visit https://www.sellwithnoel.com.