The early snowfall in November hasn’t cooled the local housing market. We continue to see record activity benefiting both buyers and sellers.
Sellers are enjoying the best market on record. With record high number of buyers, the absorption rate is at an all-time low, and trending lower. Absorption shows in months how long it would take to sell out the existing inventory of homes for sale. Anything below four months is a seller’s market. We stand at 1.37 months, which is an all-time low, and prices continue to rise as a result.
For buyers, they have more choices today. However, it would be hard to know that based on other market observers’ comments. Their refrain is, “there’s nothing to buy.” That is because they are focused on the standing inventory of homes for sale, which is near a 20-year low.
However, that figure does not accurately reflect choice in the market. After all, it isn’t like a home buyer goes to a store one day, then stops looking if a home they want isn’t on the shelf that day. They continue searching till the house comes on the market.
The total number of homes coming to market over time shows the choice in the market. In that regard, we are at a 10-year high, and 4th highest on record. There are more choices for buyers these days, but the homes are selling quickly. This simply requires a strong game plan to stay ahead of the competition. See our game plan checklist to the left.
With these strong market conditions expected to continue throughout 2018, buyers are once again enjoying the security knowing their home is on solid financial ground – even if that ground has a little unexpected snow covering it.
We take great pride in helping our clients make smart, informed decisions to achieve the best possible outcomes. If you or someone you know is considering a purchase or sale, one of our real estate professionals would be delighted to help.
