Recent post from Scott confirming what we are seeing on the ground. While low inventory is beginning to effect the volume of sales, the increase in the velocity of sales is surprising.
Homes selling faster, confounding experts
Posted by Scott Van Voorhis Boston.com Real Estate
So much for all the doom and gloom talk of a looming real estate slowdown.
Economists for the various real estate websites and brokerages out there have been talking up a storm about how the Fed, rising interest rates and the troubles in Washington were adding up to big trouble for home sales and prices.
Yet instead of a slowdown, we are seeing, if anything, acceleration, with homes in Greater Boston selling like hot cakes, according to a new Zillow survey.
Homes within the I-495 beltway that sold in September were on the market about 99 days before finding a buyer.
That’s down from an average of 107 days on market last year, or 7 percent faster, to be exact.
But sellers are making out even better in Boston and the western and northern suburbs of Middlesex County.
In both Boston in this big stretch of suburban towns, homes found buyers on average after just 77 days. The biggest drop came in Middlesex County, where days on market fell by nearly a quarter, from 101 last year, Zillow reports.
Meanwhile, the shortage of homes for sale doesn’t show any signs of improving anytime soon, with construction of new homes and condos still dragging along at anemic levels.
Homes are also selling faster in other markets across the country as well, with a dramatic boost in the speed with which sellers are to land a purchase and sales agreement.
Days on market nationally have fallen to 86, down a whole month from September 2012, when it took an average of 116 days for a house to sell.
Still, while Boston is beating the national average, we have nothing on San Francisco.
In the Bay Area, homes on average stay on the market just 48 days. Now that’s fast!