Housing Market Remains Strong in the Off Season
Throughout the Capital Region, market activity continues to trend upward for the seventh consecutive month. Typically, this time of year the market slows down but as a result of the spring/summer shutdowns due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the low inventory, it looks like the market will remain fairly active throughout the winter months.
Greater Capital Association of REALTORS® President, Tom McGroder of Thomas J. Real Estate, commented that the region is experiencing a sellers’ market that may continue well into the new year. “Multiple offers have become the norm,” McGroder said. “When inventory is low, prices go up.” Sellers are receiving 97.6 percent of the original list price. In November, homes in the Capital Region averaged just 49 days on market.
According to Freddie Mac, the record-low supply of homes for sale combined with strong demand means home prices are rapidly escalating and eroding the benefits of the low mortgage rate environment.
Greater Capital Association of REALTORS® CEO, Laura Burns, noted, “the rapid price growth is causing affordability issues, especially for first-time buyers that don’t have the housing equity from a sale to use as a down payment.” The median sales price increased by nearly 10 percent over last November to $240,580. The rate of price increases is expected to remain the same in the coming months, especially for single-family homes.
Compared to this time last year, inventory levels market-wide decreased 36.3 percent to 3,472 units, and months’ supply of inventory was down 43.1 percent to 2.9 months.
Although supply remains low, there was a 16.3 percent increase in new listings over November 2019 providing 1,163 new listings for the month. Pending sales increased 14.9 percent from November 2019 to 964 for the month. Closed sales increased 29.2 percent from November 2019 to 1,376 for the month.
Showing activity remains higher than the same period a year ago across most of the country, suggesting that strong buyer demand is likely to continue into what is typically the slowest time of year. The Capital Region saw 10,507 showings in the month of November indicating that despite the chilly temperatures, the market may remain busy well into Q1 2021.