High mortgage rates, unrelenting prices, and low inventory have limited transactions throughout the Mid-Atlantic so far in 2023. Yet October showed the first signs of being similar to activity levels in 2022. New pending sales were only 3.2% lower than last year and some metros within the Mid-Atlantic had more new pending sales, and even closed sales, than in October 2022.
“The resiliency of the market in the face of mortgage rates approaching 8% has been impressive,” said Dr. Lisa Sturtevant, Bright MLS Chief Economist. “While the market is expected to slow this winter, as it always does seasonally, the Mid-Atlantic may finally start to trend alongside 2022 activity.”
New listing activity has typically been 20-30% below what occurred in 2022. In October 2023, there were 21,517 new listings across the Mid-Atlantic. Excluding January, this is the narrowest difference between the two years. Moreover, akin to new pending sales, some pockets of the Mid-Atlantic are seeing more new listings than last year.
Additional new listings are a welcome sign. Overall Mid-Atlantic inventory remains at a deficit compared to the number of homes on the market last year. The 34,415 active listings available at the end of October 2023 were 6.0% less than the number in October 2022. Inventory has been improving since the summer and gains throughout the winter could help buyers persisting in the market have more choices, or provide opportunity for buyers who may bide their time until spring.
Whether buyers purchase now or wait until the new year, the market will be competitive. Half of the homes sold in the Mid-Atlantic in October were only on the market 10 days or less before being scooped up by an interested buyer. While there’s been a little relief since the June, the swift pace of buying hasn’t returned to pre-pandemic norms keeping buyers on their toes.
In October, the median sale price in the Mid-Atlantic region was $381,000. Though declining from the summer, the median…
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