The theme of the year was low inventory and increasingly patient buyers. Unlike past years where agents and sellers could price homes almost as high as they wanted to, 2019 brought a more cautious buyer pool. Buyers were not as interested in competing and willing to wait for the right home at the right price. This is reflected in the difference in list and sales prices, seen in the chart below. Homes priced appropriately were scooped up quickly with only occasional bidding wars, while homes over priced often sat on the market and saw multiple price reductions.
Low rates and nominal appreciation (hopefully 3-5%) in today’s market should make for more stability through 2020. The one constant across the South Bay has been low inventory. 2019 vs 2018 saw a 31% decrease in homes for sale. For 2020 keep an eye on inventory and interest rates! Our market is currently heavily supply driven and a flood of new homes on the market could keep things flat or even produce a small tick down in sale prices. Additionally, increasing rates lower buyer power and could cause more buyer to leave the market.
If you currently own, it may be the perfect storm for you to take advantage of the appreciation you have gained over the past few years and move up to the larger or better located home you have been waiting for. If you are looking to buy your first home today market could provide you the flexibility to be more aggressive and negotiate terms in more buyer friendly manor than years past.
Please review the information below and let me know if you have any questions. Better yet give me a call, let me do a CMA (Comparative Market Analysis) of your home to show you exactly how much buying power you have. You may be surprised!
Call or email me today if you are thinking of buying or selling!
"Finally! A real professional! Ryan knows his job extremely well and genuinely cares about his clients. We bought our property from Ryan and he always went above and beyond to make sure we were taken care of. His trustworthiness and dedication to his clients are far beyond any realtor we’ve ever encountered in the past. DEFINITELY will go to Ryan for all future property purchases. Phenomenal!" -Andrew B.