Spring officially started earlier this week, but the real estate spring market has been heating up for a while now. At Barrett & Company we hold a weekly office meeting and talk about recent activity in the real estate market, particularly about the past weekends open houses.
Over the last couple of weeks we have heard about open houses that attracted 15, 20, sometimes even upwards of 30 groups of people through. Each week, that number goes up. So we are seeing, yes, buyers are out there.
Something we hear over and over again from those buyers, though, is “where are the new listings?” Inventory is down, way down. Recently, the number of single family homes listed for sale in Concord, Massachusetts was 57 , half what the inventory had been in August 2011 at 117.
Yet in that same time span, the median sale price in Concord has increased from $868,000 in August 2011 to $1,080,000 in early March 2012.
We are also seeing multiple offer situations and properties going under agreement very quickly. Home buyers are still trying to take advantage of the low interest rates while they can, but they would love to see more options so bring on the inventory!
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
It’s great to see things picking up. I’m sure you can relate – lead after lead saying “let’s wait until spring.” Let’s hope the increase in price can make up for the low inventory? Just came across this through Google, but I found it interesting and will continue to read. Best from Dan in Norton
Thanks for the comment Dan. Since this blog post was written we have seen things heat up even more. Inventory in Concord has doubled from 57 to 118, so we are seeing a nice increase. Best, beth