Marsha’s Real Estate Update July 2022

There has been a lot of turmoil and blows coming from every direction in the recent weeks and days! Although I hold a Masters in Economics and Finance and do love to analyze what is going to happen with the markets and predict where the home values end up, there are still too many external factors and conditions that are occuring to come up with final conclusions. One thing I do know is that there are still many buyers out there looking for homes. I also know that we have been riding the real estate wave for the last 2 years. 2020 was already going to be a peak year for prices and demand and COVID has pushed the demand up. We know what happened: low interest rates, increased wealth for most income levels and changing trends and demands for buyers and sellers. Biggest buyer groups became millenials and emptynesters. Fast Forward two years later and yes the rates are climbing back up to avoid recession. Increased rates will reduce demand to bring more equilibrium between the supply and demand. Massachusetts Real Estate market is still very strong! The days on the market has gone up and the homes might not sell the first weekend, but they do sell. The key is to price the homes correctly taking into account the condition and location of the home. The market is normalizing, but definitely not crashing! We saw 20% price appreciation in the last 2 years. It was not sustainable. Some of the pricing might be coming down, but are still higher than 2020. Price appreciation in 2022 is still expected to be about 5% to 10%. The inventory in most Towns is still lower than what is normal in the summer. Depending on how the inventory is relative to other years dictates the prices. This is still a great time to SELL and Still a Great time to Buy. We are also entering the Summer Market where some buyers are taking vacations and not actively looking at real estate; thus reducing the demand and the competition. Every Weekend, I hear from my agents on what happened during the weekend and yes, more buyers are getting their offers accepted, but at the same time, there are still bidding wars, multiple offers and 20-40 people attending open houses. Please do remember, whether you are a seller, buyer or agent, we need one offer to sell a home! If 3-5 people come and they love the home and one makes an offer, it is a success. If you want crowds, a home needs to be priced strategically. We are normalizing and entering the Summer Market! I hope you have some fun plans for the July 4th Weekend! Marsha