Main Line & Philly Market Report - Nov 2022

Main stream news leads you to believe the real estate market is crashing like 2008.

There are strong market shifts locally and nationwide. However, micro-market analysis shows stability and strength in our Main Line and Philadelphia Center City communities when you take a 5-year viewpoint vs short-term swings in values and demand.

Fact vs Fear vs Illusion

It's important to drill down into the real numbers for any particular micro-market when making real estate decisions.

Despite the increase in interest rates and slowing of price escalations, the majority of Philadelphia's prime neighborhoods and Main Line communities remain stable and strong when comparing to 5-year averages instead of focusing on short term price adjustments.

Articles quoting dramatic shifts are misleading because the basis of their comparison isn't clarified. For instance, if a market had a spike in values of 40% and is now down 20%, that's indeed a dramatic shift. Yet they don't clarify how the lowered values compare to 5-year averages.

November 2022 Monthly Stats vs 5-Year Averages

Wall Street Impact on Main Street

The spike in values we saw during the past 12-18 months, as well as the quick cooling on both values and buyer demand are unlike any other market shift in history.

We can attribute the rapid shifts to not only the influence of COVID-19 driven buyer trends, but also the large influx of institutional funds from US and abroad into residential real estate.

"Housing Market vs Stock Market"

A recent interview by?Inman News with Redfin CEO, Glenn Kelman , spotlighted insights into the effect of Wall Street’s investment into Main Street:

Kelman said the housing market is becoming more volatile. That’s happening in part due to the flood of well-funded institutions, which respond to market changes more quickly than individual buyers and treat housing more like shares in a corporation.

I just think as Wall Street owns more of Main Street,” Kelman said, “the housing market will look more like the stock market, which is extremely volatile.”

Inman News

What does that mean for you?

Buyers - If you're thinking of buying in one of the prime neighborhoods in Center City or on the Main Line, now is a good time to negotiate with motivated sellers! Moving forward in the midst of uncertainty is historically the best time to secure a good value.

Sellers - Now is a great time to leverage limited inventory (less competition) and strong values. We can't roll back the clock to the spike in values we saw in the past 18 months. However, as you can see from the statistics above, current values remain higher than 5-year median trends in almost every area.

For an instant estimate on your home's value click here , then let's go over a detailed analysis of today's market value for your property.

Don't get psyched out of today's market because of news in other parts of the country. And always "peel back" news reports to dig deeper into what is fact vs sound bite hyperbole. If you'd like to know more about market trends in your area, let's talk! Book a 15 minute chat on my calendar .