Noteworthy Highlights:

• The month of May not only brought us some sunshine and beautiful weather but it also came with a surge of new homes hitting the market! The number of homes listed in May is up almost 60% from April and we're finally catching up to numbers that are a little more similar to what we'd seen last year.

• The number of properties that went under contract stayed somewhat consistent year over year and was again a pretty sizable jump up from last month, about 42.2%.

• The median days on the market stayed the same as well, meaning the speed with which homes go under contract is not really changing - we're still in a very competitive and fast-paced market. Most homes get listed in the middle of the week and are under contract after the weekend, so if you're a buyer, you really want to make sure you are getting in to see the homes you like as quickly as possible.

• Last May, buyers paid an average of 9.8% over the list price, but this year they're only paying an average of just over 5%, which is on par with the list-to-sale ratio in the month of April.

• The median sales price overall is up 2.27% from last month and over 5% year over year - we know a lot of people want to see this number stop climbing, and the good news is that while it's still going up, it's doing so at a much slower rate.

• Closings were also down year over year, however, they are up 20% from last month - this is to be expected because more new listings mean more closings!

Overall it's been a bit of a slower start to the year compared to last year, though it is a very positive sign that listings picked up so much this last month. In comparison to pre-COVID times, back in May 2018, we had 404 new listings, homes spent around 19 days on the market before going under contract, and the median sales price was $277,500 which was .54% under the list price. The following year we saw 417 new listings, 14 days on the market and a median sales price of $302,500. Now that's a reminder of how different a world and market we're living in now! 

There are an increasing number of buyers (and some sellers too) that we talk to that are letting the sheer price of homes and interest rates hold them back from making a move that they would like to make. The reality is that these are of course factors that weigh into the decision and timing of buying and/or selling, however they shouldn’t be the only factors that you base your future and decisions off of without other information to go along with them. As we have seen, rates change and home prices in Vermont don’t seem to be doing anything other than holding steady or continuing to go up. Some of the people waiting on the sidelines are the same ones we talked to five years ago that are still waiting for those home prices to come down - prices are sitting at an average of 62% higher than they were back in 2018 and that’s equity they could have capitalized on had they decided to buy back then. 

And if you’re thinking that waiting for interest rates to come down before buying is your best bet, consider this: as noted above, buyers are currently paying a lower percentage on average over list price than they were last year. This is proof that the rise in rates has reduced some of the buyer pool, and thereby competition in the market, enough to see those home prices settle at least a little bit. Now if you’re waiting for rates to come down, when that happens, it’s only going to cause more buyers to re-enter the market, increasing competition and thereby driving up those multiple offer situations and potentially costing you any savings you might have experienced anyway. So why not consider buying your home now - yes interest rates may be higher than they were, but if they come down you can always refinance (a lot of lenders are now offering rate rebound programs that allow free refinances for up to 5 years) and if the rates don’t come down, you’ll be happy you bought when you did. 

Overall, there are a lot of misperceptions and a lack of knowledge out there about the direction of the market, rates and what it all means in terms of an overall picture and on top of that, a lot of people simply just don’t know where to start when it comes to figuring it all out (and that’s where we come in). And our point is not to say that anyone and everyone should just buy and sell now, but just that you never know when we’ve hit the bottom until you’re on the way back up and conversely, you never know when you’re at the top until you’re on the way back down. There truly is no such thing as “timing the market” so we’d rather see people make the informed and smart decisions that make the most sense for them and get them closer to their goals. So our biggest recommendation is just to reach out and talk to professionals - a knowledgeable real estate agent and lender can work together to guide you toward the best plan of action for you. Maybe that’s making a move now and maybe it’s waiting until it makes more sense for you, but either it’s best to get accurate information related to your specific scenario before making that decision. Plus until you do, you never really know what might be possible!

Want to know more about the current market, where it's headed, and what your options are? Reach out to talk further.

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