Yesterday, an email was sent out to our firm from the real estate office in charge of broker open house tours in Needham. It simply said, "due to lack of inventory, there will be no Needham caravan tomorrow." Translation: that means we have no houses to show you.  Wow! If that doesn't say it all, we are at a standstill just waiting for new listings to come on.
I am always so hopeful each week that a handful of properties will magically pop onto MLS that are just the right fit for my clients. So far, that is not our reality, but maybe that will change in the coming weeks.
Traditionally, this is a slow period with public school vacation. Next week is when we start the climb to the height of our spring market and many new houses are released for sale. On our end, we are working behind the scenes on getting our listings to market as soon as we can.
There are still crazy bidding wars when a house is hot, hot! You may be wondering, who are the people winning these competitive bidding wars? Typically, they are buyers who are "bold and decisive," as my boss Elaine Bannigan likes to say. They are people who probably have lost out on a number of houses before and they step up with an incredibly high price with solid terms. They put their best foot forward and go for it. This isn't a market for those who make the "deal" more important than getting the house they want. It's emotion that is pushing this market to the brink, because people want their families to have a home where they can work, play, and gather together. That same force of emotion is what propels these buyers to be aggressive and get the job done.
 
So if you are even thinking of selling, do it! Now is the best time, no matter where you are. As I have said this story is not exclusive to our area--it is all over this country.  Just another historic element of the 2020-2021 saga.