With Interest rates headed up, some folks are wondering if we're seeing less pressure on home prices. The answer is no, and it's for a pretty simple reason: The number of
homes for sale is really, really low. Even though the number of buyers appears to be down from where it was over the last couple of years, there are still more buyers than sellers, and that is keeping pressure on prices. Granted, January and February are rarely busy markets, but the buyers have been chipping away at the homes that have been on the market this winter, so at this time there is very little left. Around the office, we note that even if the number of homes for sale "doubled" it would be unlikely to meet demand. Although I expect the number of homes for sale to increase this year, I'm not sure it will be enough to stop prices moving up.
That is in general, of course, and there are lots of "sub-markets" where things are things are starting to change. The luxury market (generally, $1 Million and up in this area), is now a 4-6 month market, on average, which indicates that supply and demand are in balance. That is much weaker than we saw 2 years ago, and if it continues to weaken, eventually it will push softness in the next price level down. (We are seeing a moderate move in that market, but it is still not balanced.).
Multi families and condos are getting top prices right now, perhaps even frothy prices, as buyers looking for price relief (and investors looking for income), head to less common property choices.
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Updated Home Values!
If you want to know what your home is worth, we have a new tool for you! This is an automated tool for quick response, but when you use it, we'll have a professional at Heisler & Mattson review it with a human eye, which is the best of both worlds because the computers ain't so great at this yet!
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In this report, we look at the Natick market, which has shown a steady decline in transactions. If you think the market is missing some houses, you're right!
This winter suddenly got very slow for rentals. It picked up, but the hot market looks like it has cooled off some. Expect rental prices to moderate in the coming year.
There is a lot of overpriced and hard to develop land on the market. As the good lots move quickly, the less good lots are taking advantage of the shortage.
