How's the Market?

The national real estate market remains hot ahead of the spring selling season, with existing home sales up 6.7% as of last measure. Experts attribute the growth in sales to an uptick in mortgage interest rates, as buyers rushed to lock down their home purchases before rates move higher. Mortgage rates have risen almost a full percentage point since the end of 2021, with the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage briefly exceeding 4% in February, the highest level since May 2019.

Some highlights:

• New Listings down 6.7% for Single Family homes and 17.3% for Condos

• Pending Sales down 27.0% for Single Family homes and 31% for Condos

• Inventory down 25.6% for Single Family homes and 71.3% for Condos

• Median Sales Price up 18.3% to $1,058,500 for Single Family homes and 31.2% to $730,500 for Condos

• Days on Market up 0.9% for Single Family homes but down 46.8% for Condos 

• Months Supply of Inventory down 34.6% for Single Family homes and 81.4% for Condos

Inventory was at an all-time low of 860,000 as February began, down 17% from a year ago and equivalent to 1.6 months supply. According to Lawrence Yun, Chief Economist at the National Association of REALTORS®, much of the current housing supply is concentrated at the upper end of the market, where inventory is increasing, while homes priced at the lower end of the market are quickly disappearing, leaving many first-time buyers behind. The shortage of homes is boosting demand even further, and with bidding wars common in many markets, it’s no surprise sales prices continue to soar.

Click here to view the full 22-page report for February 2022.

Have questions?

I love to talk Maui real estate! Contact me at 808-281-4711 or diane@dianebercik.com.