* The real estate market has been sipping on some strong caffeinated drinks, showing caffeine-fueled energy with single-digit increases in active and new listings for the third month in a row. (Yawn-no-more! Property hunting sure got interesting.)
* Thanks to a generous burst of listings in January 2022, according to the “let’s-tell-it-like-it-is” real estate gurus at Realtor.com, buyers are flooding in from all corners. Suddenly, the prospect of spending their Sunday afternoons in strangers’ homes seems less dreadful.
* More listings in the market? Check. More buyers to feed off them? Check. Result? A whopping four-day decrease in the median days a house stays unsold. That’s a skyscraping tumble, considering how the days-on-market clock often ticks slower than a tortoise on a leisure walk.
Real Estate Market Turns into a Caffeinated Squirrel
Market Beast Wakes Up from Hibernation
Well, well, well. It seems someone has finally managed to drizzle some life into the snoozing real estate market beast. For three consistent months, the market has been showing resilience by increasing active and new listings. Yep, we’re in the midst of experiencing our ‘The Pursuit of Happyness’ moment, where the graphs finally show an uptick, minus the bathroom floor tears, hopefully.
Buyers Play “Open House” Musical Chairs
The surge in listings has stirred the dormant buyers, and suddenly, ‘Open House’ signs are popping up like mushrooms after a rainstorm. Weekends are now a dance-off between eager buyers, who are playing a real-life version of musical chairs, hunting down potential holdings. Forget ‘Netflix & Chill,’ it’s time for ‘Walkthrough & Try-Not-to-Panic!’
Days on Market Count? More like a Speedy Countdown
The plethora of fresh listings and the resurgence of the buyer’s brigade has caused the days-on-market (DOM) average to reduce. We’ve got homes selling faster than the microwave popcorn, reducing the DOM by four days! The ticking time-bomb-of-a-house that earlier took forever to find its Romeo-Juliet, is now getting snapped up quicker, leaving much less time for the average property to brood in loneliness.
My Red-Hot Take
In the witty words of the modern-day philosopher Cardi B, “I don’t dance now, I make money moves,” that’s precisely what’s happening in the real estate market. We’re witnessing the market do a full-on salsa with new listings popping up and DOMs reducing faster than a Caribbean beat. Homes are going from “Why doesn’t anyone want me?” to “How you like me now?” in the span of fewer days. So is this trend here to stay? Or is it like a poorly brewed espresso shot, just temporary high with an impending crash? Only time will tell. In the meantime, grab a front-row seat and enjoy this heated dance-off while concurrently cribbing about soaring housing prices and remembering the halcyon days of affordable housing. Godspeed!
Original article: https://www.inman.com/2024/02/02/rate-drop-leads-to-3rd-consecutive-month-of-listing-gains/
