As we begin the new year, let’s take a look back at the end of 2019 and where our market stands now.
The first thing to know is that interest rates remained low. They went up for a bit earlier in the year but dropped back down soon after. We’ve been hearing for years now that they are going to go up and stay there, but it just hasn’t happened yet.
Next, the number of units sold in the last year was down, just like in 2018. However, this drop isn’t due to a lack of demand—it’s due to a lack of supply. There aren’t enough homes and too many buyers looking to lock in a low rate.
“Our median price rose by $28,000 in 2019.”
One metric that we use to measure our inventory is the absorption rate. It lets us know how long it would take all the homes on the market to sell if we didn’t have any new homes listed. In 2019, the absorption rate for our market was 0.69 months. This number increases to about two as we jump into the higher price points around $500,000.
Finally, home prices have continued to increase across all housing types. Our median sale price rose from $321,000 to $349,000. If you’re considering buying a home and you’re not saving at least what homes are increasing by on average, you need to consider looking to buy sooner rather than later.
If you have any questions for us about the market or real estate in general, don’t hesitate to reach out via phone or email. We’d be happy to help.
