If you follow us on Facebook or Instagram, you know that we post small snippets of market information all throughout the year. Now it’s time to look at the whole year There is no doubt that it was a stand-out seller’s market all year long. Let’s look at some of the major trends for 2021.
Inventory – Active vs Pending Listings
All year long, we saw the number of Active Listings dip below Pending Listings. This means more homes accepted offers than were left on the market. You can see how our inventory dropped throughout the year. Most of 2020 had more active listings than the peak month (July) of 2021.
As 2022 starts, the available inventory is still very low. This is good news for sellers, as it means their homes don’t have a lot of competition for buyers’ attention. However, buyers are getting nervous because they can’t find what they need. In fact, many homeowners who want to sell their current home to buy their next home are waiting until inventory improves.
So what’s the solution to the inventory crisis? Like many things in life, there is no “one” perfect solution. Ultimately, as our county’s population grows, we will need more new construction. But new construction needs land and permits and—most importantly—skilled crafts- and tradespeople. (If you know any high schoolers that have not settled on a career path, jobs like plumber, electrician, carpenter, and architect are all going to be in high demand in the coming years.)
Median Sales Prices, Sale-to-List Price Ratio & Days on Market
“Hot” doesn’t even begin to describe the market. All year long, home prices continued to rise as the demand outpaces the supply. In fact, 70.3% of homes sold for 100% or more of their listed price, and 66.4% spent 14 days or less on the market before accepting an offer.
This is a pace that our market cannot maintain long-term. There is just not enough houses in the county to keep it up! So when you hear internet-famous investors and financial gurus claiming “the real estate market is cooling,” think of it as going from glowing-red-horseshoe-in-the-forge hot to could-fry-eggs-in-60-seconds-flat hot. Technically, the frying pan is cooler than the horseshoe, but you don’t want to handle either carelessly.
If you didn’t take advantage of the crazy seller’s market last year, that’s OK. The market is constantly evolving and we all have demands on our lives that keep us busy. (School, family, work, horses, and more!) It’s exciting to talk about how many offers a home brings in or how much above-list-price they sell for. At the end of the day, property values are still rising and real estate is a great long-term investment for building wealth and security.
If you have questions about listing, whether you plan to jump on the market right away or in a few years, we have tons of information to share with you.
