July Market Update

“So, will there be a slow-down in the market over the summer,” people ask us almost every day.

You might think that it would, since it’s hotter than a snakes butt in a wagon rut. Who wants to look at homes?

Well, the answer is that the market in the summer typically looks much like it does the rest of the year.

If the market is hot coming in to summer, it will stay relatively hot. Sure, there are fewer people out there looking and typically fewer listings. But that does not mean that the number of sales changes much.

There seem to be fewer listings going in to this summer than there were last summer. That could be good for sellers and bad for buyers, but that also depends on the quality of the inventory, as we learned last year.

According to the Cromford Report, sales prices are continuing to climb slightly every month:

“Our mid-point forecast for the average monthly sales $/SF on June 15 is $173.61, which is 0.8% above the June 15 reading.

The average $/SF has been stronger than predicted over the last 5 months, and this has been largely due to the mix of homes that closed. High end homes were better represented than expected between January through May. The average $/SF for pending listings has risen again over the last month so we are expecting another gain in average $/SF over the next 30 days.”

Interest rates are also still floating just under 4%. So, there is no panic in that regard.

The tight inventory and low rates could be why the Cromford Index is going in to the summer looking like a rocket. Sellers don’t have as much competition and there are more buyers, attracted by low interest rates.

So, what does this market mean to you? If you are a seller, make your home look great and don’t be afraid to list during the summer. If you are a buyer, you might be able to take advantage of other buyers being away; this is a strategy that may work better in other parts of the valley than in others.

If you need help building a strategy, contact us at 602-456-9388.