the 2021 real estate market has taken off with a Whiz Bang!
2020 Recap: The Corona-19 shutdown really affected the real estate market in the first 2 quarters of the year. This was at no fault of the ready, willing, anxious and frustrated buyers. Sellers, on the other hand, had many reasons to be afraid to put their homes on the market. Spreading the virus, nowhere to move and wondering if prices would continue to increase were the top three deterrents. We saw the sellers start to come alive in the second half of the year. With new listings on the market, we saw a 38% increase in the number of sales. However, the properties were gobbled up as soon as they were listed for prices the sellers just couldn’t believe. By the end of the year, the median prices for SOLD homes had spiked 14%. Buyers were bringing out the big money with nearly a 50% increase in the number of sales over 1 million dollars.
2021 First Quarter: We saw more of the same. January started off a bit slow as we were waiting on the sellers to make their move. The second week of February exploded or so it seemed. The frustrated buyer pool was not shy with their offers as they knew that the listing agents were typically receiving 15 offers or more. The winning offers were waiving all contingencies, offering 10 to 20% over the list price and possibly releasing earnest money to the seller. Low appraisals haven’t been an issue either. If the buyer was getting a loan, the buyers agreed upfront to pay the needed additional down payment to cover a low appraisal which could mean an additional $100,000 more out of pocket.
A few Statistics from the past 30 days that might get Sellers off the dime and earn a dollar!
15 days of active inventory … SOLD prices are 111% of the list price
84% of the listing SOLD within the first week
Median SOLD price stands at $1,250,000 … 15% increase over last quarter.
A note to sellers: There are plenty of frustrated buyers just waiting for your home to be listed. Add to that, if you hurry, there is little competition out there. You do still need to make your home shine like a new silver dollar to get the highest offers. Hire an experienced agent to guide you. A mistake in this market can be costly without you even knowing it.
As seller put more homes on the market for buyers to see, there should be the typical leveling off of prices. Everyone wins. Sellers prices will be based on the appreciation of the first quarter and buyers not only have more homes to see but their offers will seem to be more reasonable or closer to the list price.
Check REX2020.com for more blog posts that are both informative and timely for today’s real estate market. Let tom know if you have been thinking about a move … it may be time to start planning.
Tom has created step by step guides for both Sellers and Buyers based on the current market and proven by his 30 years of experience. His guides are FREE for everyone that meets with him to discuss their needs and expectations. Whether it’s time to buy now or in the future, he will present options and help you to put a plan of action in place.
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