I love talking with people about real estate! Not just because I think it is beautiful, interesting, and a window into peoples’ lives. I love talking about the real estate market with different people because no two people have the same opinion of what’s going on with it! Some people think we are in a bubble, some people think it’s a strong buyer’s market, and some people think it’s risky to buy now or maybe a bad time to sell. It’s true that we don’t know what will happen in the future, but here’s what we know about the present.
Home prices fell slightly this past month from $441,875 in March to $439,499 in April. However, April, 2023’s prices are still higher than the average home price a year ago. April 2022’s average home price was $438,360. Prices rose again in May before (mostly) cooling off for the rest of the year due to rising interest rates. To put things in perspective, though, in March, 2020 the average home price was $307,167, which means that if you bought an average home that month, putting 20% down ($61,433), you could sell your home today, pay off the original loan amount*, and walk away with $196,142, a $319% return on investment. Not too shabby!
*Your actual loan balance would be lower because you have made three years worth of monthly payments, however, that math is above my pay grade!
Ok, so prices are not in trouble. But how is the market, is it moving crazy fast again? The average days on market is coming back down but is still relatively higher than what we had become used to at 42 days. The lowest days on market was 14 in June, 2021 and the last time it was in the 40s was just before the pandemic.
So, we know that you can still get a good price for your house, even though it may take a little bit longer to sell. But what is the competition like? Good news for sellers and bad news for buyers, there is not a ton of inventory. There were 2,046 homes for sale in April, which equals 1.9 months of inventory available. I don’t have a statistic available for this but in my experience, buyers are just looking for longer. A few years ago I would take a buyer out to see 3-5 houses at once, and after a week or so of that, they’d usually have a couple of good options! Now, when one house comes on the market, I rush my buyer over there to see it. It’s a different time, and we just have to adapt.
So next time you’re talking to your neighbor and they are talking about how the housing market is taking a nosedive, you can correct them! Neighbors love that! If you have any questions about the housing market, home improvements, or what kinds of snacks a four year old likes (the ones that are bad for you), you know who to call!