To all the agents in the house,
The way 2021 is ending suggests 2022 will be distressingly similar. Most obvious, the number of COVID-19 cases are rapidly growing, and, agents, I'm curious to know how this surge is affecting your life and business.
In terms of sales and the competition for listings, it would seem that the covid surge is ensuring real estate stays the same. Mortgage interest rates have inched down, people are not returning to physical workplaces…and the competition for bigger homes, or just any home, has not ebbed.
"Seasonally adjusted active listings - the count of all homes for sale at any time during the month - hit an all-time low in November, falling 18% year-over-year," read a Redfin report released this Monday.
The study reported a seasonally adjusted 683,000 new homes that went onto the market, and 1.36 million homes that are being listed on Multiple Listing Services.
The lack of listings is likely a cause, if not the cause, for continually increased prices. The U.S. median sales price in November was $383,000, according to the National Association of Realtors, 14% up from the year before, which was already a time of escalating costs.
The NAR release quotes their chief economist, Lawrence Yun, who states, "Supply chain disruptions for building new homes and labor shortages have hindered bringing more inventory onto the market. Therefore, housing prices continue to march higher due to the near record-low supply levels."
Most signs point, in other words, to the high-demand, low inventory market of 2021 continuing for 2022. Agents, do you see a break in the clouds?
Please email me anonymously at mblake@housingwire.com.
Sincerely,
Matthew Blake
Senior Real Estate Reporter
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