Summer Market 2023

It is hard to sum up our “current” market in a succinct way as the past few months have been a confusing roller coaster! Some weeks are a flurry of activity and other weeks seem to come to a total standstill.

I’ve had recent sellers receive multiple competitive offers in the first weekend and others who are doing their best to wait patiently for the right buyer over multiple weeks. I’ve also had buyers experience similar—some in competitive situations, others getting accepted offers under list price with closing costs covered, and one buyer who was even able to do a loan assumption and keep the sellers’ 3% interest rate!! (Let me know if that process piques your interest and I’m happy to share the details on that process—it’s a test in patience but totally worth the end result).

Bottom line—it is truly important to speak with a trusted professional if you need any advice about planning, as the market movement is so varied depending on price point and location.

For my stat-loving friends! Overall data comparing May 2022 to May 2023:

• Current median sales price is $412,750 which is down 8.3%

• Closed sales are down 19%

• New listings are down 17%

• Active inventory is up 39%

• Median days on market up 75% to seven days

While housing prices have slightly softened, 2020 and 2021 were “unicorn” years that experienced unprecedented, unsustainable home appreciation. Now that we’re well past that time we have not experienced any sort of “crash” in our area, but those feeling the hardest hit are folks needing to sell after only living in their home a year or two. They likely had to bid quite high to secure the home in the first place which will mean any equity gains may be slim for the time being, and some could be upside down if their downpayment was very small (0-5% down). Whenever possible, a great strategy in this case is to hold onto the home as a rental and find a tenant who will cover the mortgage payment while the home can continue to rebound and appreciate for years to come.

We continue to see an inventory shortage which has kept buyers active despite the interest rates. Please keep in mind the 2-3% interest rates were also unicorns and there is no expectation we will be seeing those again for a . The $300k-$450k price range is where we see the most competitive activity and if interest rates soften down into the mid-5% range late summer and into the fall (thus increasing affordability), expect that activity to increase exponentially.

For anyone needing to sell quickly, having the best presentation and pricing accurately is 10000% essential. “Accurately” often means just below the comparable data to be the first to grab a buyer’s attention. With the interest rates making the payments so much higher, buyers are being as selective as they can be even amidst the low inventory.

For the investors out there, cash buyers can still find tremendous opportunities. Anyone needing to finance through the traditional route will have a harder time producing monthly cash flow, but if you are interested in exploring home-flipping or wholesaling, there are also many creative financing options I can help you find.

Thanks for reading and please be sure to throw any and all questions my way!