May 2021 Market Report
I hope everyone is having a great start to May and it's great to see everyday life starting to get back to "normal".
The real estate world however is not quite normal as we are still in the midst of a market that we have never quite experienced throughout the state of Vermont.
Last year at this time we were just starting to be removed from the Stay At Home order and we were getting a peak of things to come as it became evident that people wanted to move to Vermont to escape the pandemic around the country. We started to see sight-unseen offers, offers escalating 3-5% above asking price and inventory starting to tighten.
The new market dynamics continued as there was a lot of uncertainty in the air and it became a perfect storm for our market to go off the hinges.
Sellers were afraid to allow showings, interest rates were at historic lows and buyers were looking for more room or a country setting to get out of more urban areas. Inventory clamped down and hasn't really recovered as buyers who live in state who wanted to move are troubled by where they can go next. The market has adjusted to help those buyers get into new homes through rent back agreements after closings or extended time to allow sellers sufficient time to locate and secure their next purchase. I often get asked when will this craziness end and it is a very difficult question to answer as supply is still not even close to meeting demand. Even last year at this time there was 3 months supply of inventory (how long it would take to sell all the homes on the market if no other homes came on the market) but as we sit today there is less than 1 month supply of homes.
Already in 2021 the median sales price of homes, according to the Northwest Vermont Board of Realtors, has increased YTD by 12.9%. 40.6% more homes are under contract year to date and closed sales are up 14.6% but it is important to note that this is compared to 2020 when the real estate market was essentially shut down for 4 weeks. With all this in mind, if you are considering selling or buying it is more important than ever to have a great agent and team working for you. We ask you to please keep us in mind for any real estate related questions as that is what we are here for. We hope that we can be that team for you and look forward to working with you through these unprecedented times.