It’s the question everybody asks, because everyone wants to know! Whether you’re just wondering about the ongoing value of your home, or you’re thinking about buying a home soon, “How’s the Market?” is your #1 question.
First Things First
We spend a lot of time not just helping clients buy and sell homes, but studying and learning the dynamics of the real estate market in the Triangle, and especially Wake County. We think it’s important to stay on top of what’s going on, because it helps tell us where we’re going. And it’s important for us to know about national news and trends for 2 reasons:
- Eventually, broad national trends will have an effect on us locally. When the California market turned in ’05-’06, we began seeing fewer buyers with cash-stuffed pockets buying luxury homes at higher rates and “unnaturally” pushing up prices. So today, we keep an eye on the market nationally, and especially on those areas that send large numbers of folks moving to our little corner of heaven.
- We also have to know about national trends because … that’s what YOU SEE in the news! Even the local TV & news media concentrate on national figures, because that’s what gets published “on the wire” and is easy content for them to grab.
But Still…. ALL REAL ESTATE IS LOCAL!
OK. But, really, how’s the market?
You’ve probably seen a lot of news of the market “slowing down” or “softening” …. And this is TRUE too!
We’ve been in the business 20+ years, and each year is different …. Just as each PART of the year should be different. It’s called SEASONALITY, just like the weather has seasons. And until the “overheated” (demand) market of the last couple of years, every year we slow down around Thanksgiving and don’t pick back up until mid-January (ie, the HOLIDAYS).
> Here’s a nifty chart that shows how activity ebbs and flows:
November’s sales were about 80% of 2018’s average monthly sales- completely NORMAL.
So, when you’ve seen recent reports like this: Pending home sales fall 2.6% in October as more buyers are priced out
Naturally, you might get worried that calamity is upon us. But September through February – sales SHOULD decline!
Now, this article does provide one important point – on a NATIONAL BASIS, we’re selling just a bit fewer homes than years past. And we should know the how and why of that. But that’s a topic for another day, and a topic on NATIONAL issues.
If you’ve got a burning question – whether it’s about the information in this post or a completely different topic – leave us a comment!
