The Latest Real Estate Trends for February 2023

We’re currently in an exciting time of the season, with March Madness just around the corner. I’m sure everyone is looking forward to it, and so am I! To give you an outlook on the market, I’m sharing some emerging trends and comparing the market stats of February 2023 to February 2022. 

As we all know, we’ve experienced the hottest seller’s market in the past two years, up until around July last year, with historically low rates and inventory. Now, rates have increased but are still relatively low. If you’re a buyer, don’t be scared to make your move. Let’s work together and find your next home.

Lack of inventory is still driving the market. Towards the end of last year and the beginning of this year, we anticipated that inventory would increase, which would balance out the market for buyers. Unfortunately, inventory has started to decline again, with an average of around 1500 residential homes on the MLS. The absorption rate, which indicates how long it would take to sell all inventory, for February 2023 was just under a month and a half compared to just under a month this time last year.

Additionally, the median list price and median sales price for February 2023 were surprisingly at $290,000 and $244,000, while it was at $250,000 and  $235,000 last year, respectively. In 2022, the median cumulative days on the market were nine days, with houses selling in record numbers and receiving multiple offers and bidding wars. This month, it’s 20 days. It’s still an impressive number that indicates now is a fantastic time to sell your home.

Also, conventional rates have slightly increased. They’re now just over 7% for a conventional rate and still in the mid-6% for FHA. However, there are still good programs available for buyers to help reduce rates to 5%. Speak to your loan officer and Realtor to see if you qualify for any programs.

Lastly, to guide you in your buying or selling plans, I would like to share these wise words of Winston Churchill: “Success is not final. Failure is not fatal. It’s the courage to continue that counts.” If you’re interested in a free market analysis or need assistance with your real estate plans, please don’t hesitate to call or email us. We’re always here to help and look forward to hearing from you.