This past summer has been a crazy one for the California Housing Market. Home Prices have risen over 15% YOY and inventory has fallen as well, about 13% YOY. Historically, Summer has always been a high point for the real estate market anyways. But because of this strong seller’s market, it has deterred some buyers from purchasing houses. Well, now a few months have past, and many sellers (and buyers) are wondering (or praying) if the market has finally cooled off some. Is now still a good time to sell my house? Is now a better time to buy a house? Well, we are here with the answers!
Inventory is Still Very Low
Based on simple supply and demand laws, it is no question that we are still very much in a seller’s market. While demand has plateaued, inventory continues to remain at very low rates. That’s good news for sellers.
In 2020 and 2021, that low inventory meant that we never really had a rush for spring and houses have been slow to come on the market, meaning this: you don’t need to wait for the “best” time to sell your home. If you’re considering about selling your home, just list it.
Overall, U.S. home prices rose almost 8% from the third quarter of 2019 to the third quarter of 2020, the fastest year-over-year climb since 2006, according to a report from the Federal Housing Finance Agency, and have continued to climb in 2021.
Mortgage Rates are Low
Incentivized by record low interest rates, home sales this fall far outperformed last year’s numbers, according to data from the National Association of Realtors showing that contract signings rose 20.2% in October over the past year.
The Market is Defying Normal Seasonal Trends
If you look at the data, Spring and summer are always good times to sell. We have seen the traffic tick down a little bit in October and November, but not a lot. As we are in Southern California, there are no barriers to selling like heavy snow or freezing temperatures. Even so, some may not want to list closer to the holidays. Just keep in mind that people need to find a place to live regardless of the time of year, and with the Days on Market so low, it might be faster than you think to get your home sold.
Covid-19
Seasonality isn’t the only thing to keep in mind when choosing whether now is the time to sell your home. It’s also important to consider the current conditions of the market.
The demands of home-buyers have changed since Covid-19. People working remotely have prioritized larger home-office spaces, better location, and other characteristics. Low mortgage rates have encouraged a lot of people to continue to search for homes, despite the treacherously low inventory of homes for sale.
That means people looking to sell their house are going to have favorable conditions for some time, assuming the current conditions hold. According to a National Association of Realtors (NAR) study, homes sold for an avg. of $66,000 more than the list price, up $6,000 YOY.
Luckily for buyers, the Federal Reserve has said they’re going to keep interest rates low, so these conditions will most likely follow us into the next year!