How Is Our Real Estate Market Changing?

A lot can happen in a month in our real estate market, let alone a year. Here’s how things have changed.

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I’ve got a quick update for you. The spring market is upon us and inventory levels are still very low. That’s driving prices up in certain areas, as well as driving sales down.

From January to February of this year, sales dropped by about 3.7%. However, sale numbers are still 5.4% higher than they were at this point last year. Inventory is 6.4% lower than it was at this time last year.

Right now in the Northeast, we are seeing a sharp 13.8% decline in sales from last year due to this low level of inventory.

First-time buyers make up a large portion of the market.

First-time homebuyers make up a large segment of our market. Right now, they make up about 32% of buyers. In the price ranges they are looking in, mostly under $300,000, we are seeing multiple offers and bidding wars because there are not a lot of properties out there for those buyers to choose from.

Last year, we had about 1,600 homes on the market, but only have 1,100 on the market right now. If inventory continues to drop, prices will continue to go up.

If you have any questions for us about the market or about real estate in general, give me a call or send me an email today. I would love to hear from you.

Where Is Our Market Heading in 2017?

In looking ahead to what our market holds for 2017, today I wanted to review our final year-end statistics and how they compare to years past.

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Today I wanted to talk about how our market has performed this year and where I think it’s going in 2017 based on some recent historical data.

The first statistic we look at is the average sale price. Year to date, our average sale price is $332,000. At the same point in 2015, that number was $327,000. Going all the way back to 2011, it was $311,000. As you can see, we’ve had some appreciation in this case, which is no surprise considering how good our market has been this year.

The next statistic we examine is our average days on market (or average days to sell). Currently, we’re running at about 67 days on market. In 2015, we were running at 71 days on market. In 2011, there were 99 days on market. This number continues to trend downward the further removed we get from the crash of 2008 and 2009.

Next, we look at months of inventory. This is what’s driving our prices and our interest rates. Currently, we only have three months of inventory, which is not a lot. In 2015, we had seven months of inventory. In 2011, we had a whole year’s worth.

Next, we look at sales. Year to date, we’ve had 7,398 homes sell, with about 466 to 500 pending sales, giving us an estimated final number of 7,844. In 2015, we had a total of about 7,689 sales. In 2011, there were 4,948 sales.

So, what do these disparities mean? Where are we going in 2017?

As we all know, the Federal Reserve met earlier in the month and increased interest rates again, so we should continue to see that number trend upward. Mortgage rates have risen from a low of about 3.5% earlier in the year to 4.25% now. That increase should balance out our inventory levels. If our inventory levels don’t increase, we’ll continue to see that price appreciation.

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Expect a slowdown in the year to come.

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However, next year, I think we’ll see a general slowdown in the market. We simply can’t continue at the pace we’ve gone over the past year. If you’re thinking about making a move in our market, now would be a good time to get ready for that.

If you’re thinking about buying or selling a home, we’d love for you to email us or give us a call so we can help you. In the meantime, have a happy holiday season and I hope we talk soon!