As I sat there and mulled over the data in front of me for the month of February and the trends in early March, I realized that this market is extreme in every sense of the word. Buyers have an extreme sense of urgency to buy because of the lack of inventory but also because of the extreme need to get out of the city. Sellers have an extreme expectation that their house will sell for more than it’s reasonably worth, and this turns out to be true in many circumstances. Buyers can feel extremely discouraged in this market. Real Estate Salespeople & Brokers who represent buyers are extremely overworked and exhausted vs representing sellers are extremely shocked to see some of the offers coming in.
Acton’s real estate market increased a whopping 23 percent over the same month last year. Here are Acton specific statistics to consider for the period of February, 1 – February 28, 2021;
Sixteen homes sold firm at an average of 108 percent of asking price. It took an average of 6 days on the market to sell firm. Average sale price in Acton - $857,000 Lowest sale price - $675,000 Highest sale price - $1,172,000
Contrasting with February 2020;
14 homes sold firm at an average of 100 percent of asking price It took an average of 17 days on the market to sell firm Average sale price in Acton - $695,804 Lowest sale price - $429,900 Highest sale price - $970,000
It took me a little longer than usual to put my pen to paper for my monthly update. Not only because it’s a busy time, but I also wanted to help educate people on what could be the biggest investment of their life. When you decide you’re ready to buy a home, it’s extremely important to get pre-approved by a reputable Mortgage Specialist. This alone will help in the competitive market we find ourselves in. It’s equally important to set an affordable budget and stick to it. Do not throw all caution to the wind. When working with a Realtor, it’s important to rely on them for advice; specifically advice on what a reasonable price for the home would be based on comparable recent sales.
I do fear that as this market continues to climb with such haste, we will start to see issues arise. Some homes may end up not appraising by the mortgage lender and the buyers may fall short on their down payment, which may force some of these homes that have sold to return to the market. It’s happened before and it can happen again. It creates a domino effect for other transactions that may have relied on that one sale and this is a reality I’ve witnessed. I feel like some hard lessons may be learned in the coming months – reflective of 2017 when the market corrected.
Don’t ever hesitate to reach out if you have any questions about the local real estate market.
Comments