Summer Review:
July and August continued many recent trends in Cape Cod real estate. With the start of the fall market and some relevant economic trends at hand, let's take a look.
Inventory is building in certain price ranges... Overall inventory of single family homes is at it's highest since November 2020. However most of this buildup is occurring in the above median price range. Specifically, by the end of August there were 604 homes for sale for $740k (median) or more. Are you in the market for something less than $740k? All of Barnstable County had 166 of those homes for sale at the end of August, a much tighter market. These numbers have also stayed fairly consistent since the beginning of 2023.
Median Sales Price is down since June... and the lowest it's been since March, but it's still high. Median sales price for a single-family was $739k in August. The local Affordability Index is currently at 40, meaning median household income in Barnstable County is 40% of what it would take to purchase a median priced home. This partly explains the dearth of homes for less than $500k available on the market; any time something in this price range appears, it's gone.
Mortgage Rate changes? Just this past week The Fed lowered interest rates by 50 basis points. At the time of writing, FreddieMac reports average mortgage rates right around 6%. Compare this to 6.5% August 22nd or 7.2% May 2nd. We expect this may have an impact on the market in at least two ways. First, buyers may now have more borrowing power and thus more ability to bid successfully on the inflated home prices on Cape Cod. Second, lowering mortgage rates may help increase inventory by encouraging homeowners locked into higher rates to sell. We'll see!
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.
| June | July | Aug | |
| Closed Sales | 261 | 252 | 269 |
| Inventory | 682 | 666 | 753 |
| Median Sales Price | $819k | $800k | $740K |
| Avg Days on Market | 41 | 34 | 45 |
| Avg % of Original Price | 98.5% | 97% | 96% |