Real Estate, A Look Back 2019, 2020 & 2021

Let’s look back. This year was an absolute nightmare for would-be homebuyers. Even if they could find a home within their budget—no easy task as inventory hit a 40-year low this year—there’s a good chance they lost it in a frenzied bidding war. That’s not an exaggeration: At one point this spring, a staggering 74% of U.S. home listings were getting multiple offers according to fortune.com

We had the hottest seller’s market in quite some time. As real estate activity increased during the pandemic, the supply of homes on the market couldn’t keep up with demand. To make matters worse, the pandemic led to economic difficulties including a lack of materials and labor, which in turn tightened inventory even more. Due to these market forces, we saw one of the hottest seller’s markets ever. According to Realtor.com, the national median number of days on the market for homes reached 37 days in June, which is one of the lowest figures in recent memory.

Home prices reached all-time highs. As expected with the market conditions, the national average for home prices rose to an all-time high.  Here is what’s happening in Fairfield County.

2019 - 11,198 sales of single-family homes and condos with an average sale price of $557,489, a close to list price ratio of 97.3% and an average price per s/f of $254.
2020 - 14,404 sales of single-family homes and condos with an average sale price of $687,176, a close to list price ratio of 98.4% and an average price per s/f of $284.
2021 - 14,815 sales of single-family homes and condos with an average sale price of $772,309, a close to list price ratio of 100% and an average price per s/f of $312.

Your home may be worth more than you think. The unprecedented buyer demand
experienced in our markets over the past three years combined with low inventory
has led us to a competitive seller’s market along with rising home sale prices.

Fairfield County - Single Family Homes and Condo’s
Average Sale Price - 2019 - $557,489
Dollar Volume of Sold - 2019 – $6,242,766,711
Average Sale Price - 2020 - $687,176 – up 23.26%
Dollar Volume of Sold - 2020 – $9,898,083,545 – up 58.6%
Average Sale Price - 2021 - $772,309 – up 12.39%
Dollar Volume of Sold - 2021 – $11,441,756,470 – up 15.6%

The interest rates continued to break records. Fortunately for many buyers, another record-breaking metric kept homebuying within reach despite rising prices: Mortgage interest rates. After falling below 3.0 percent in mid-2020 for the first time since mortgage giant Freddie Mac began its weekly mortgage survey in 1971, the average interest rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage in 2021 was the lowest ever for any calendar year. Through November, the average rate was 2.94% lower than the second-best year on record, which was 3.11% in 2020.

Are their signs that the housing boom is losing some steam? More homebuyers are finally beginning to push back against surging prices. In October 60.3% of sales involved a bidding war, which is down from the all-time high in April (74.5%). The Federal Reserve is planning to raise rates. Rising mortgage rates would price out some buyers altogether.

The perfect storm. That's the best way to describe the red-hot housing market we've seen from coast-to-coast during the pandemic. It was spurred by a combination of recession-induced low mortgage rates, remote work allowing buyers to sprawl further away from their workplace, and a wave of first-time millennial homebuyers entering the market. Now is the time to consider selling, there simply aren't enough homes available to meet this demand.

Where the Housing Market Is Going in 2022 and how long will this last? The market we have experienced over the past three years along with unprecedented buyer demand is showing no sign of slowing down. For More Info On Your Area, Just Ask!

LeeAnn DeLeo, Broker Associate, REALTOR®
(203) 253-4567, Text or Call - Selling or Buying Expect Better! You Deserve It!
Servicing Fairfield and Lower New Haven County
Offices Located in Norwalk, Stamford & Greenwich, CT