“Tis the season” of misleading headlines that don’t take into consideration what the market does every December. Below is a market recap where we crunch the numbers for you so can understand what happened in November and what is most likely going to happen in December.
November 2023 continued a trend that has occurred since the spring: a little more inventory with more homes being added to the market and a slightly more balanced market. There’s still a much lower inventory of properties to sell when compared to pre-pandemic. In November, there were 5,057 homes for sale on the market, which is the highest volume we’ve seen in almost 3 years. However, that’s still far short of the November 2019 volume of 6,483 homes for sale. With demand being driven lower by interest rates and uncertainty, supply continues to be the most important part of the equation. With fewer homes, prices stay up. We’re slowly, very slowly, making our way back to pre-pandemic inventories. However, if interest rates drop next year, this could ignite buyer demand and supply could drop again during the buying frenzy created by so many people waiting on better rates. This will drive prices even higher. Remember the classic Supply and Demand curve and how price reacts to low supply/high demand.
Be ready for scary headlines! Every December, fewer homes are added to the market. Not many people want to buy or sell during the holidays. Every December, new homes being added to the market drops, along with fewer properties going under contract and fewer properties closing. This is a normal seasonal adjustment that we experience every year. If you see a headline touting doom and gloom based on low December numbers… please remember, this happens every year. The holidays are a great time to buy because you have more bargaining power as a buyer. As a seller, be prepared to wait the season out and expect buyer activity to increase after the holidays.
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