There's a lot of guesswork happening around the real estate market (and how our inflationary economy is affecting it) - so I thought I'd share a hyper-local report with factual information from our MLS.
Here are the Year Over Year (YOY) 3rd quarter 2022 statistics for Middlesex County:
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Number of Transactions:
Available inventory is up 13.54%
Pending sales are down 12.72%
Actual closings are down 10.09%
In a nutshell - more homes staying on market, fewer sales.
Home Prices:
Listing prices are up 14%
Sale prices are up 9%
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The market is significantly less frantic than it was last year.
Open house LINES have had their day, and open house sessions are generally attended by 10-20 groups of buyers. When priced correctly, new listings are still selling in the first 1-2 weeks, with 1-3 offers, most often at or a bit above the list price.
Sellers who debut on the market with an overly ambitious list price are meeting resistance, and we are seeing some price reductions out there. From the numbers, we can see that many sellers had hoped to see a continuation of the huge YOY price increases/appreciation once spurred by the pandemic and interest rates below 3%.
Rising interest rates (now near 7% for 30-year fixed loans) have interfered with those wishful expectations, HOWEVER, sale prices are still, on average, higher than this time last year.
Important Takeaways
1) The market is far less intense
2) We are seeing adjustments to overly ambitious asking prices
3) Prices are still rising - 9.08% for Middlesex County year over year
If you have questions or want to discuss any changes to your real estate goals, please be in touch! I'm always ready to provide clear and current information, including this data for your own specific zip code - just ask!