You’re likely seeing headlines discussing what’s going on in today’s housing market. Chances are high that some of the more recent storylines you’ve come across mention terms like “cooling” or “slowing” when talking about where the market is headed. But what do these terms mean? The housing market today is anything but normal, especially when compared to the few years leading up to the pandemic. With that in mind, what can previous years tell us about today’s real estate market?
Multiple Offers Not as Common
The Realtors Confidence Index from NAR shows a drop in the average number of offers homes are receiving in August. We began seeing this in April when most homes stopped receiving 8 to 10 offers and the number dropped to 3 to 5. The data you heard reported for April and May home sales indicated the market was still strong, but behind the scenes we could see something was changing. Now it is not uncommon for a good home to sit on the market a while before it sells.
What Does This Mean for Total Homes Sales?
You may see headlines about a drop in home sales, but it is unfair to compare any year to 2020. The fact is that in August of this year, more homes were sold than in August of 2019, indicating we are still in a strong market. Today’s home sales are well ahead of some of the more normal years that led up to the Covid crisis, and the best homes out there are still selling at a quick pace.
What Does the Future hold?
Our expectation is that next spring’s market will be very much like the one we had this past spring. Many buyers were frustrated competing against so many others and dropped out of the 2021 market. We saw this as the number of homes available for rent plummeted in May and June. We fully expect them to be right back in the market next spring.
Additionally, jobs continue to pour into the Washington area. Whether someone moves to this area to take one of those jobs, or someone from the area fills it causing their current company to have to backfill, people are still moving to our area in great numbers to fill these jobs—and they need a place to live.