Under Contract Rates:
Under contract dates are the earlier of Accepting Backup Off (ABO) dates or Pending dates. Although YTD sales are ahead of the previous two years, new pendings have recently been lagging. Through November, they were down 20% compared to last year and 21% compared to 2019. Inventory shortages are a major contributor to the drop in recent sales.
Closed Sales:
While YTD sales are up by 13% and 10% compared to last year and 2019, most of that margin came from intense activity in the first half of the year. Sales have been settling since June and will continue to fade into the early months of 2022 until spring inventory begins to arrive.
Values:
Extreme buyer competition and bidding wars drove prices up early in the year. They have since settled—in large part because of depleted inventory. Expect prices to level off over the next few months before picking back up when fresh new listings begin to arrive in spring.
Outlook:
Expect buyer demand and prices to temporarily fade while market times increase over the next few months. Prices will continue to rise in 2022, but at a slower rate. Although the number off upper-end sales will continue to increase, values of those properties will rise slower than the lower and middle price ranges where inventory shortages are more prevalent.
