Spring is usually the busiest time of year for the housing market. This past year, it stayed busy right through the winter. After all, it's hard to resist the lure of home offices, open spaces and big kitchens when you're spending so much time at home.

If you've put your move on hold because you've heard it's competitive out there, here's why it's still a good time to get started:

Rates typically rise with the economy:

"As both home-price growth and mortgage rates continue this upward trend, we may see affordability challenges become more severe if new and existing supply does not significantly pick up,” said Joel Kan, associate vice president of economic and industry forecasting at the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Marketwatch says that mortgage rates have soared to the highest level since June 2020.

Prices are going up:

So far in 2021, mortgage rates have risen over half a percentage point. Mortgage rates rose above 3% for the first time since last summer earlier this month. Rising mortgage rates are a reflection of the upbeat sentiment among investors, which has pushed long-term bond yields higher.

“Rising expectations around the boost to economic activity from a fresh round of fiscal stimulus, equal to more than one month’s worth of economic output, and reemerging consumers drove rates higher." Danielle Hale, Chief Economist at Realtor.com

Most people are getting vaccinated:

According to Pew Research in a survey conducted in February 2021:

1. overall, 19% of adults say they have already received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine

2. another 50% say they definitely or probably plan to get vaccinated

3. taken together, 69% of the public intends to get a vaccine – or already has – up significantly from 60% who said they planned to get vaccinated in November.

We know that managing buying (and selling at the same time in some cases) can be complex, but we've got you covered.

Photo by Obi Onyeador on Unsplash