Buyer’s Market Losing Steam
Ah snow day! When I saw the email that school was cancelled, I was excited for the excuse to get the extra time with my kids. We went back to our lockdown mode of cooking, eating and playing outside. At the end of the day, I received my grand prize: sweet exhaustion.
We all know that the real estate agents are an optimistic bunch. It seems that it is always a good time to buy when you ask a real estate agent. Since I pride myself to be a responsible real estate agent, I’ve always been hesitant to put my weight behind the perennial good time to buy statement. But this time is different. I feel in my heart that I need to let all my readers know that now is a good time to buy. No matter you are an investor or an end user, this down market has endured its many years of hardship, including the latest body blow from the pandemic. It will begin its healing process soon. Lately, many of my offers that were looking for a deal, went nowhere. Quite a few sellers, particularly in Brooklyn, were getting their full asking prices. In December 2019, we had 750 listings going into contract. In December 2020 we had 933. In January 2020, we had 813 listings going into contract. In January 2021 we had 958. And back in December 2017 and 2018? Both had a little over 600. 800-900 in contract listings for December/January indicate a busy market. And remember most investors and especially the international investors are still largely absent. I proudly say that it has been us New Yorkers that put our money where our mouths are. We buy the city we love.
Good Read
I think calling it a seller’s market is still premature. Regardless, this article talks about the shifting dynamic in the market.