Spring has definitely sprung & despite the one evening of a frost warning, I think it's safe to say that pleasant weather is here to stay (at least for awhile!). While our days continue to warm up, our local real estate market continues to be HOT & the root cause continues to be low inventory.
I track active listings nearly daily on our Multiple Listing Service. My winter update had a volume in the 1500s which dwindled into the 1300s and even a few days in the 1200s during March & April. So, a time when we all expected to have MORE of a selection, we had RECORD LOW inventory.
Today there are 1493 homes seeking buyers. When new construction is excluded, that volume drops to 1124. That's in our entire MLS territory: the immediate Capital District and points north, south & west. The county with the greatest volume is Saratoga; this also tends to be the county with the greatest demand.
Demand remains high with pending (i.e. under contract) volume outpacing the active numbers by a few hundred. Today, there are 1845 homes under contract & 1537 when new construction is excluded. Saratoga County leads the four Capital District counties (Schenectady, Albany, Rens, Saratoga) in volume here too.
Comparing 2022 to 2023, here's the skinny:
* New listings are down 18.7% (which is why you're hearing that sales are down!)
* Days on market are down 8.3%
* Average sale price is up 2.7% to $315,554
What's it all mean? It's still a seller's market. Prices have gone up and things are going under contract more quickly. Buyer demand is FAR outpacing supply. Yes - even with higher interest rates. On average, the statistics from our local Realtor Association show that average (key word!) sale prices are ranging from 96 - 100% of asking in the four immediate Capital District counties.
So what does this all mean for "real life"? I can tell you from repeated personal experience that homes that are properly prepared & priced are going QUICKLY (median 5 days) & for significantly MORE than asking price with multiple offers being quite the norm. Here's some examples from my desk:
29 Charlton Rd: Multiple offers; asking price $285,000, sale price $330,000
135 Goldfinch Lane: Multiple offers; asking price $295,000, sale price $335,000
On the buyer side of things, I've recently had the pleasure of attending closings with some first time homebuyers! These are extra special adventures; especially these days as all but one of my clients had to put in multiple offers before they had an offer accepted.
Bottom line: it's still a great time (with unique challenges) to be a seller & a frustrating time to be a buyer. With patience, knowledge & the right agent guiding your way (insert shameless plug here for me LOL), real estate goals can become reality. Who you work with DOES matter. Things are very different than they were years ago & market experience can help buyers & sellers find maximum success within this market.
I love this stuff! If you have any questions about how the market is in a particular town or neighborhood, I hope you'll reach out.
Agent Brenda/518-527-0800/agentbrenda22@gmail.com
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