My husband Jeff is a huge F1 racing fan and each Friday morning his phone is tuned to the qualifying race in some far away land in order to see what position the teams get for the start of the competition the following day. That's how I feel about the beginning of this selling season. I am hoping the events of this week and next, tell me (and in turn you) where the real estate market is positioned for at least this fall.

With the limited sales data I have so far it seems to me the course has changed just a bit and is perhaps a little slicker for sellers, but not by much! The few well-priced properties that came on in A+ locations flew off the market this week. Of course in order to tell a full story we need to examine a market by specific price ranges which vary greatly. The urgency buyers have seems to be for the properties priced under $2M. Our building inventory priced north of $3M is much more substantial and noteworthy. The luxury buyer is the face of the market least affected by interest rates typically, but more affected by changes in the financial markets. For example in Weston roughly 80% of the houses currently on the market are more than $2.5M and in Wellesley about 50% of the inventory is above $2.5M. Perhaps there is an opportunity for buyers if that is your price range!

We don't seem to be anywhere near a housing recession here with this limited inventory. More new listings will come on however as the fall rush tends to last at least through Halloween!!

In terms of pricing nationally, an article in CNBC had this to say: "Prices are now 43% higher than they were at the start of the coronavirus pandemic, according to the S&P Case-Shiller national home price index. The supply of homes for sale is growing, up 27% at the start of September compared with the same time a year ago, according to Realtor.com. While that comparison seems large, it’s still not enough to offset the years-long shortage of homes for sale."

When looking at the real estate market through the lens of investors , interest rates have dramatically affected buying power and I have seen a shift. The numbers talk and if you aren't making a profit then you must walk away from a deal. With 5-8% loan rates for investors, it's more difficult to make money even with rising rents and you are left with finding creative financing (happy to explain what that is if you want to reach out privately). Even large builders who had closed their inventory to investors in the last few years, are starting to engage with investors again as end users back out of buying their new houses before completion since they are no longer able to afford the payments with the raised rate. 

 

Coming up in the next few weeks I am thrilled to be presenting two fabulous listings in Wellesley. A fantastic 5 bedroom home in Wellesley Farms set in a popular neighborhood, and a charming Cape-style home in Natick also in a much desired area. More details to come! Click here to see all of MGS Group's listings. 

 

I hope that back to school and the beginning of fall was an easy transition. My girls are all adapting well to the school schedule and so are Mom and Dad. More exciting news to come next week. Thanks for reading!

Are you curious about what your house is worth in this market? I'm always available and more than happy to provide an analysis for you! Email me at teri@teriadler.com or call at 617-306-3642 to schedule a meeting.