October Review:
Good news today for buyers with mortgage rates dropping significantly; however, with median prices continuing to rise and inventory continuing to decrease, the Cape Cod real estate market still significantly favors sellers.
Median sales price hit another record. Median sales price was $811,000 for a single family home in October. With that number, single family homes have nearly doubled in price in the past four years, since the start of the pandemic. For comparison, median sales price in October of 2004 was $385,000 and hovered around $400k until late 2007 when the mortgage crisis hit. Median sales price stayed under $400k until 2017. The point being, home prices were comparatively stable for about 15 years, which is quite a bit different than what we have seen these past four years.
Inventory remains low. The number of homes for sale in Barnstable County in October was 591. The number of homes for sale pre-pandemic in October of 2019 was 1,961, approximately a 70% drop. Inventory will continue to drive the high prices as long as it remains this low.
Mortgage rates continue to be a challenge for some buyers. At the time of writing, mortgage rates have dropped to around 7.5%, which is good news for buyers, but still not enough to improve inventory. With so many mortgages written over the past few years around rates of 3%, these higher rates will continue to incentivize homeowners to stay in their current homes rather than sell and take out a new mortgage (at a higher rate) on another home. This will likely be another factor influencing lower inventory for some time, at least until something gives.
Whichever seat you are in, whether buying, selling or vacation renting, the professionals at Chatelain Real Estate are here to give you the expert advice you will need to make your transaction a success. For more market data check out our blog category Real Estate Trends. You can also give us a call any time - we look forward to hearing from you.
| July | Aug | Sept | Oct | |
| Closed Sales | 210 | 239 | 223 | 267 |
| Inventory | 474 | 526 | 565 | 591 |
| Median Sales Price | $753k | $700k | $795k | $811k |
| Avg Days on Market | 30 | 28 | 29 | 34 |
| Avg % of Original Price | 99% | 98% | 98% | 97% |