Homebuying season heating up in Metro Detroit

• While April sales were down nearly 4% compared with the year before, Metro Detroit is still seeing a typical seasonal increase, says Jeanette Schneider, president of RE/MAX of Southeastern Michigan.

State of play: It's more important now for buyers to be ready to jump when the right house comes along, Schneider says.

• That means already having met with a lender, received mortgage pre-approval, picked a real estate agent — and knowing exactly what they want in a home.

What they're saying: "We are seeing the seasonality bump," she says. "It would be nice if we could get sales to bump up a little bit more. A lot of that is going to have to do with where interest rates stay, what's going on around the world … Affordability pressures are real."

• While many buyers have come to terms with interest rates in the low 6% range, less predictable changes like the rise in gas prices and its ripple effects are likely to affect decision-making.

Zoom out: The average annual percentage rate Tuesday for a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage was 6.43%, per Forbes.

• Home price increases have slowed nationwide in the last year, with low consumer confidence and lack of job growth making potential buyers pause.

By the numbers: While home sales are down, the region's median sales price is up nearly 4% in April from the same month last year to $319,075, per the latest RE/MAX monthly report.

• Prices and rates of increase vary by county, with Wayne seeing the biggest annual jump of more than 9% to a median price of $215,000.
• Detroit nearly matched that gain, 8% to $100,000.
• Oakland saw a modest bump of 3.7% to $368,000.

Zoom in: Even outside of Detroit's large impact on Wayne County's numbers, the county is seeing growth in other cities for their higher selection of affordable options, per Schneider.

• Downriver communities like Brownstown, Southgate and Trenton are doing well for first-time homebuyers, as well as Westland and Livonia.