April Real Estate Market Update

Wow its almost May! Times are changing rapidly and we are here to keep you informed about whats going on in your backyard.  March brings us our first look at real estate that has been affected by Covid-19. Lets dive into these numbers and see whats going on. 

First we always like to look at the number of new homes coming on the market. 

So year to date we are down almost 6% compared to this time last year, which is to be expected when social distancing orders are in effect. That definitely caused people to hesitate on listing their home.

 

Next up lets take a look at the number of pending homes or the number of home that have gone into escrow.

March saw a big drop in new pending contracts, this was expected. With stay at home orders causing businesses to close up shop and wait it out, home showings slowed as well. However the transition to virtual showings and virtual appointments has helped to push these numbers back up. We also saw a blip in lending with a massive refi boom causing some lenders to tighten restrictions on purchasing until they could catch up on the backlog. 

 

Now lets take a look at Months Supply of Inventory. What this means is that if we sold every home available and no more inventory came on the market how long would that take. 

Inventory has taken a big dip year to date at almost 30% from this time last year. With listings down this creates a tightening inventory which can be a sign its a great time to get your home on the market, or if your thinking of downsizing/up-sizing its a great time. 

 

The median price is up 6.8% on the year, which is the amount that values have increased/decreased. With tightening inventory levels this is to be expected. We should see this slow in the next 4 to 6 months.  

 

The next two numbers we want to look at is the number of homes that are actually for sale, and how long is it taking for those homes to go into escrow. 

So first the number of homes for sale has decreased almost 21% on the year. With a total of 4663 homes for sale in Sarasota and Manatee County we are seeing Price as one of the most important factors. If inventory remains low this could change. Our advice is price your home correctly the first time. Capitalize on the equity you can get now and do not try and time the market.  Speak with your House Match Realtor to make sure you are POSITIONED to best capitalize on this. 

So when you have more homes for sale naturally the time on market or days on market we call it. Which is how long does it take for a home to go on the market and then go into escrow. 

So the time to contract is up 23.1% Year to Date to 40 days, this number too can be dialed in to specific neighborhoods and price points. However if your home has been sitting longer than 40 days you have to review the THE BIG TWO... Price and Condition. 

With inventory shrinking, homes that are priced well are getting snatched up almost 10 days quicker then they were this time last year. If you are in the market to buy, and you find a home you love don't sleep on it or you might not sleep in it.  

I also wanted to include this to show the difference between price points in how quickly homes are selling 

Days to contract dropped throughout the entire range of home prices. With inventory dropping a bit, the homes that were sitting are now starting to pick up activity again.  There was an increase in the sub 100k price point however that one is volatile since there are just not many homes for sale in that range. 

 

It all has to do with supply and demand. Take a look at the next chart. 

We are seeing the biggest increase in that $250-$299 range of listings, what we are noticing is that alot of Sellers are taking advantage of the great interest rates to MOVE UP in home. They are selling and taking the equity they made in the $250-$299 range and moving up into the $400-$599 range of homes. 

Last but not least we have Closed Sales , with closed sales being up 9.3% for the year with alot of these being contracts that were written in February. With interest rates still near record lows and inventory remaining tight in certain price points it is a great market for both Buyers and Sellers. It will be interesting to see the data next month to see how the stay at home order and ensuing impact on the local economy affects real estate. 

We hope all of you are safe, healthy, and happy!  

If you have any questions or would like some more specific data on your home, neighborhood, or price point. Please do not hesitate to reach out!

 

Matt Bohanon

CEO

House Match