Essex County Q3 2020 Housing Market Report
[Click here to download a copy of this report]
Single Family Homes (SFH)
The median price of SFHs sold in the first 9 months of 2020 (YTD Q3) jumped 11.8% to $532,500, comfortable breaking through the $500,000 level for the first time. Every one of the 34 cities and towns saw a Year on Year increase. Most of the sales decline occurred in the COVID-19 impacted Q2. The median Days to Offer (DTO) was just 10 days. (more…)
No improvement in Inventory in October
The number of Single Family Homes (SFH) in Essex County receiving offers recovered strongly from May onwards, and for the last four months has been ahead of 2019. YTD numbers are now very similar to 2019 levels. The numbers would have been even stronger in recent months but for the chronic shortage of supply.
Single Family Homes
After years of decline, the number of SFHs for sale in Essex County on the first of the month compared with a year earlier (YOY) increased from August 2018 until June 2019. The decline then resumed, and has accelerated in 2020:
The next two charts (the first for January to June; the second July to December) show the number of SFHs for sale on the first of the month since 2018. In the first chart the numbers for 2020 YOY show the renewed decline (in 2019 inventory was increasing in the first 6 months of the year).
The second chart shows the decline YOY each month since July 2019 (note the decline both from 2018 to 2019 and again, much sharper, from 2019 to 2020).
Condos
The number of condos for sale increased YOY from June 2018 until August 2019, but since then there has been a decline which has accelerated somewhat in 2020:
These two charts show numbers since 2018 for January to June, and July to December.
The first chart shows the decline in 2020 YOY, while in 2019 inventory was increasing in the first 6 months of the year.
The second chart shows inventory has been declining since October 2019, with the rate of decline accelerating in 2020..
Supply
While the overall inventory of 1 month of supply remains well below the 6 months traditionally regarded as representing a market in equilibrium, supply as usual becomes freer the higher the price bracket.
Comment
The market in recent months has been characterised by the twin challenges of reduced inventory and increased demand, with buyers from Boston adding to local demand; and both aided by record low mortgage rates.
We are back to the most basic economic equation: when demand exceeds supply, prices rise. In housing, that often results in bidding wars, as we are seeing frequently now. My Q3 market reports will be published shortly and will make interesting reading.
Goodbye Boston, Hello Marblehead
Mortgage rates dip below 3% – where to next?
“If you’re interested in Marblehead, you have to visit the blog of Mr. Andrew Oliver, author and curator of OliverReports.com. He’s assembled the most comprehensive analysis of Essex County we know of with market data and trends going back decades. It’s a great starting point for those looking in the towns of Marblehead, Sale, Beverly, Lynn and Swampscott.”
Andrew Oliver
REALTOR®
Sagan Harborside Sotheby’s International Realty
One Essex Street | Marblehead, MA 01945
m 617.834.8205
www.OliverReports.com
Andrew.Oliver@SothebysRealty.com
Sotheby’s International Realty® is a registered trademark licensed to Sotheby’s International Realty Affiliates LLC. Each Office Is Independently Owned and Operated
Current list of available properties
New listings are seeing tremendous competition, and inventory is way down compared with a year ago. Buyers need to look at the list of all available properties as sometimes properties get overlooked for no obvious reason. Here is the summary of current inventory:
Click on these links for full details:
Marblehead SFHs For Sale
Marblehead Condos For Sale
Swampscott SFH For Sale
Swampscott Condos For Sale
Salem SFH For Sale
Salem Condos For Sale
Beverly SFHs For Sale
Beverly Condos For Sale
Lynn SFHs For Sale
Lynn Condos For Sale
Inventory chronically low; demand booming
Goodbye Boston, Hello Marblehead
Mortgage rates dip below 3% – where to next?
“If you’re interested in Marblehead, you have to visit the blog of Mr. Andrew Oliver, author and curator of OliverReports.com. He’s assembled the most comprehensive analysis of Essex County we know of with market data and trends going back decades. It’s a great starting point for those looking in the towns of Marblehead, Sale, Beverly, Lynn and Swampscott.”
Andrew Oliver
Market Analyst | Team Harborside | teamharborside.com
REALTOR®
Sagan Harborside Sotheby’s International Realty
One Essex Street | Marblehead, MA 01945
m 617.834.8205
www.OliverReports.com
Andrew.Oliver@SothebysRealty.com
Sotheby’s International Realty® is a registered trademark licensed to Sotheby’s International Realty Affiliates LLC. Each Office Is Independently Owned and Operated
Is the market slowing down?
Labor Day is gone, COVID-19 infections are rising again in many places, and the Election is just 37 days away, so it would not be a surprise if we saw signs of the market slowing down.
The number of SFHs receiving Accepted Offers each week is a statistic which tracks real-time activity (versus reported sales which reflect activity some 6-8 weeks earlier). Here is a (rather busy) chart comparing the number of AOs each week in 2020 compared with the same week in 2019.
What this shows is that the number of AOs has remained at a high level throughout the summer and has continued even after Labor Day. The apparent drop in the most recent week reflects the fact that many Offers are not recorded in MLS until after the weekend, so I will update this chart on Monday evening.*
That the level of AOs is so high is quite remarkable considering the low level of inventory:
Is the market is slowing down? Not according to the data.
* the numbers were little changed
Andrew Oliver
Market Analyst | Team Harborside | teamharborside.com
REALTOR®
Sagan Harborside Sotheby’s International Realty
One Essex Street | Marblehead, MA 01945
m 617.834.8205
www.OliverReports.com
Andrew.Oliver@SothebysRealty.com
Sotheby’s International Realty® is a registered trademark licensed to Sotheby’s International Realty Affiliates LLC. Each Office Is Independently Owned and Operated
“If you’re interested in Marblehead, you have to visit the blog of Mr. Andrew Oliver, author and curator of OliverReports.com. He’s assembled the most comprehensive analysis of Essex County we know of with market data and trends going back decades. It’s a great starting point for those looking in the towns of Marblehead, Salem, Beverly, Lynn and Swampscott.”
So, how much have house prices gone up?
Anecdotally, we have all heard about how prices outside Boston are booming, as people move out of the city, but how much have prices actually gone up?
Because small numbers can – and do – produce misleading statistics, I look for large numbers, as in my quarterly reports. I have, however, calculated the monthly median prices for Essex County SFHs and for Boston condos. After these charts, I will also give an early indication of what the third quarter will look like in Marblehead and Swampscott.
Essex County SFH
This chart shows the monthly median prices for the last 4 years. The blue top line is 2020. After being around $500,000 for the first few months, the median price moved to $545,000 in July and to $575,000 in August. These are, of course, monthly numbers which can fluctuate, but it is also worth noting that the numbers for August refer to sales contracted in June for the most part.
This table shows the quarterly progression. Q2 and Q3 are normally the highest quarters for the year.
Boston Condos
This chart is less clear, but the table below shows that median prices are little changed from 2019 YTD and have been declining quarter by quarter in 2020.
Marblehead and Swampscott
After being below $700,000 in Q1 and Q2, the Q3 median SFH price will blow through not $700,000 but $800,000 – and comfortably at that.
In Swampscott, however, the median SFH is likely to be similar to the 2019 level. Some interesting analysis when I write my Q3 reports.
Goodbye Boston, Hello Marblehead
Housing Inventory chronically low while demand is strong
Mortgage rates dip below 3% – where to next?
Andrew Oliver
Market Analyst | Team Harborside | teamharborside.com
REALTOR®
Sagan Harborside Sotheby’s International Realty
One Essex Street | Marblehead, MA 01945
m 617.834.8205
www.OliverReports.com
Andrew.Oliver@SothebysRealty.com
Sotheby’s International Realty® is a registered trademark licensed to Sotheby’s International Realty Affiliates LLC. Each Office Is Independently Owned and Operated
“If you’re interested in Marblehead, you have to visit the blog of Mr. Andrew Oliver, author and curator of OliverReports.com. He’s assembled the most comprehensive analysis of Essex County we know of with market data and trends going back decades. It’s a great starting point for those looking in the towns of Marblehead, Salem, Beverly, Lynn and Swampscott.”
Properties currently for sale
New listings are seeing tremendous competition, and inventory is way down compared with a year ago. Buyers need to look at the list of all available properties as sometimes properties get overlooked for no obvious reason. Here is the summary of current inventory:
Click on these links for full details:
Marblehead SFHs For Sale
Marblehead Condos For Sale
Swampscott SFH For Sale
Swampscott Condos For Sale
Salem SFH For Sale
Salem Condos For Sale
Beverly SFHs For Sale
Beverly Condos For Sale
Lynn SFHs For Sale
Lynn Condos For Sale
Inventory chronically low; demand booming
Goodbye Boston, Hello Marblehead
Mortgage rates dip below 3% – where to next?
“If you’re interested in Marblehead, you have to visit the blog of Mr. Andrew Oliver, author and curator of OliverReports.com. He’s assembled the most comprehensive analysis of Essex County we know of with market data and trends going back decades. It’s a great starting point for those looking in the towns of Marblehead, Sale, Beverly, Lynn and Swampscott.”
Andrew Oliver
Market Analyst | Team Harborside | teamharborside.com
REALTOR®
Sagan Harborside Sotheby’s International Realty
One Essex Street | Marblehead, MA 01945
m 617.834.8205
www.OliverReports.com
Andrew.Oliver@SothebysRealty.com
Sotheby’s International Realty® is a registered trademark licensed to Sotheby’s International Realty Affiliates LLC. Each Office Is Independently Owned and Operated
Swampscott Condos For Sale
Housing Inventory chronically low while demand is strong
The number of Single Family Homes (SFH) in Essex County receiving offers, while still down 10% from the 2019 number YTD, recovered strongly from May onwards, and for the last three months has been ahead of 2019. The numbers would have been even stronger in recent months but for the chronic shortage of supply.
Single Family Homes
After years of decline, the number of SFHs for sale in Essex County on the first of the month compared with a year earlier (YOY) increased from August 2018 until June 2019. The decline then resumed, and has accelerated in 2020:
The next two charts (the first for January to June; the second July to December) show the number of SFHs for sale on the first of the month since 2017. In the first chart the numbers for 2020 YOY show the renewed decline (in 2019 inventory was increasing until June).
The second chart shows the decline YOY each month since July 2019.
Condos
The number of condos for sale increased YOY from June 2018 until August 2019, but since then there has been a consistent decline which has accelerated somewhat in 2020:
These two charts show numbers since 2017 for January to June, and July to December.
The first chart shows the decline in 2020 YOY, while in 2019 inventory was increasing in the first 6 months of the year.
The second chart shows inventory has been declining since October 2019, with the rate of decline accelerating in 2020..
Supply
The scarcity of supply has become even more pronounced, with less than one month at all price levels up to $1 million, while it remains abundant at the top end:
Comment
The market in recent weeks has been characterised by the twin challenges of diminished inventory and increased demand, with buyers from Boston adding to local demand, both aided by record low mortgage rates.
We are back to the most basic economic equation: when demand exceeds supply, prices rise. In housing, that often results in bidding wars, as we are seeing frequently now.
Goodbye Boston, Hello Marblehead
Mortgage rates dip below 3% – where to next?
“If you’re interested in Marblehead, you have to visit the blog of Mr. Andrew Oliver, author and curator of OliverReports.com. He’s assembled the most comprehensive analysis of Essex County we know of with market data and trends going back decades. It’s a great starting point for those looking in the towns of Marblehead, Sale, Beverly, Lynn and Swampscott.”
Andrew Oliver
REALTOR®
Sagan Harborside Sotheby’s International Realty
One Essex Street | Marblehead, MA 01945
m 617.834.8205
www.OliverReports.com
Andrew.Oliver@SothebysRealty.com
Sotheby’s International Realty® is a registered trademark licensed to Sotheby’s International Realty Affiliates LLC. Each Office Is Independently Owned and Operated
Currently available properties
New listings are seeing tremendous competition, and inventory is way down compared with a year ago. Buyers need to look at the list of all available properties as sometimes properties get overlooked for no obvious reason. Here is the summary of current inventory:
Click on these links for full details:
Marblehead SFHs For Sale
Marblehead Condos For Sale
Swampscott SFH For Sale
Swampscott Condos For Sale
Salem SFH For Sale
Salem Condos For Sale
Beverly SFHs For Sale
Beverly Condos For Sale
Lynn SFHs For Sale
Lynn Condos For Sale
Inventory chronically low; demand booming
Goodbye Boston, Hello Marblehead
Mortgage rates dip below 3% – where to next?
“If you’re interested in Marblehead, you have to visit the blog of Mr. Andrew Oliver, author and curator of OliverReports.com. He’s assembled the most comprehensive analysis of Essex County we know of with market data and trends going back decades. It’s a great starting point for those looking in the towns of Marblehead, Sale, Beverly, Lynn and Swampscott.”
Andrew Oliver
Market Analyst | Team Harborside | teamharborside.com
REALTOR®
Sagan Harborside Sotheby’s International Realty
One Essex Street | Marblehead, MA 01945
m 617.834.8205
www.OliverReports.com
Andrew.Oliver@SothebysRealty.com
Sotheby’s International Realty® is a registered trademark licensed to Sotheby’s International Realty Affiliates LLC. Each Office Is Independently Owned and Operated
Swampscott Condos For Sale
Latest list of available properties
New listings are seeing tremendous competition, and inventory is way down compared with a year ago. Buyers need to look at the list of all available properties as sometimes properties get overlooked for no obvious reason. Here is the summary of current inventory:
Click on these links for full details:
Marblehead SFHs For Sale
Marblehead Condos For Sale
Swampscott SFH For Sale
Swampscott Condos For Sale
Salem SFH For Sale
Salem Condos For Sale
Beverly SFHs For Sale
Beverly Condos For Sale
Lynn SFHs For Sale
Lynn Condos For Sale
Inventory chronically low; demand booming
Goodbye Boston, Hello Marblehead
Mortgage rates dip below 3% – where to next?
“If you’re interested in Marblehead, you have to visit the blog of Mr. Andrew Oliver, author and curator of OliverReports.com. He’s assembled the most comprehensive analysis of Essex County we know of with market data and trends going back decades. It’s a great starting point for those looking in the towns of Marblehead, Sale, Beverly, Lynn and Swampscott.”
Andrew Oliver
Market Analyst | Team Harborside | teamharborside.com
REALTOR®
Sagan Harborside Sotheby’s International Realty
One Essex Street | Marblehead, MA 01945
m 617.834.8205
www.OliverReports.com
Andrew.Oliver@SothebysRealty.com
Sotheby’s International Realty® is a registered trademark licensed to Sotheby’s International Realty Affiliates LLC. Each Office Is Independently Owned and Operated
Swampscott Condos For Sale
List of Properties Available for sale
New listings are seeing tremendous competition, and inventory is way down compared with a year ago. Buyers need to look at the list of all available properties as sometimes properties get overlooked for no obvious reason. Here is the summary of current inventory:
Click on these links for full details:
Marblehead SFHs For Sale
Marblehead Condos For Sale
Swampscott SFH For Sale
Swampscott Condos For Sale
Salem SFH For Sale
Salem Condos For Sale
Beverly SFHs For Sale
Beverly Condos For Sale
Lynn SFHs For Sale
Lynn Condos For Sale
Inventory chronically low; demand booming
Goodbye Boston, Hello Marblehead
Mortgage rates dip below 3% – where to next?
“If you’re interested in Marblehead, you have to visit the blog of Mr. Andrew Oliver, author and curator of OliverReports.com. He’s assembled the most comprehensive analysis of Essex County we know of with market data and trends going back decades. It’s a great starting point for those looking in the towns of Marblehead, Sale, Beverly, Lynn and Swampscott.”
Andrew Oliver
Market Analyst | Team Harborside | teamharborside.com
REALTOR®
Sagan Harborside Sotheby’s International Realty
One Essex Street | Marblehead, MA 01945
m 617.834.8205
www.OliverReports.com
Andrew.Oliver@SothebysRealty.com
Sotheby’s International Realty® is a registered trademark licensed to Sotheby’s International Realty Affiliates LLC. Each Office Is Independently Owned and Operated
Swampscott Condos For Sale
Latest list of properties for sale
With new listings seeing tremendous competition, buyers should also look at the list of all available properties as sometimes properties get overlooked for no obvious reason. Inventory, however, remains chronically low. Here is the summary:
Click on these links for full details:
Marblehead SFHs For Sale
Marblehead Condos For Sale
Swampscott SFH For Sale
Swampscott Condos For Sale
Salem SFH For Sale
Salem Condos For Sale
Beverly SFHs For Sale
Beverly Condos For Sale
Lynn SFHs For Sale
Lynn Condos For Sale
Inventory chronically low; demand booming
Goodbye Boston, Hello Marblehead
Mortgage rates dip below 3% – where to next?
“If you’re interested in Marblehead, you have to visit the blog of Mr. Andrew Oliver, author and curator of OliverReports.com. He’s assembled the most comprehensive analysis of Essex County we know of with market data and trends going back decades. It’s a great starting point for those looking in the towns of Marblehead, Sale, Beverly, Lynn and Swampscott.”
Andrew Oliver
Market Analyst | Team Harborside | teamharborside.com
REALTOR®
Sagan Harborside Sotheby’s International Realty
One Essex Street | Marblehead, MA 01945
m 617.834.8205
www.OliverReports.com
Andrew.Oliver@SothebysRealty.com
Sotheby’s International Realty® is a registered trademark licensed to Sotheby’s International Realty Affiliates LLC. Each Office Is Independently Owned and Operated
Swampscott Condos For Sale
Housing Inventory – what inventory?
The number of Single Family Homes (SFH) in Essex County receiving offers, while still down 10% from the 2019 number YTD, recovered strongly from May onwards, and then ran into supply problems in July (the numbers for July will be updated early next week and will increase slightly):
Single Family Homes
After years of decline, the number of SFHs for sale in Essex County on the first of the month compared with a year earlier (YOY) increased from August 2018 until June 2019. The decline then resumed, and has accelerated in 2020:
The next two charts (the first for January to June; the second July to December) show the number of SFHs for sale on the first of the month since 2017. In the first chart the numbers for 2020 YOY show the renewed decline (in 2019 inventory was increasing until June).
The second chart shows the decline YOY each month since July 2019.
Condos
The number of condos for sale increased YOY from June 2018 until August 2019, but since then there has been a consistent decline which has accelerated somewhat in 2020:
These two charts show numbers since 2017 for January to June, and July to December.
The first chart shows the decline in 2020 YOY, while in 2019 inventory was increasing in the first 6 months of the year.
The second chart shows inventory has been declining since October 2019.
Supply
Once again, the pattern of supply is consistent: very scarce at lower price levels and abundant at the top end:
Comment
The market in recent weeks has been characterised by the twin challenges of diminished inventory and increased demand, with buyers from Boston added to local demand, both aided by record low mortgage rates.
We are back to the most basic economic equation: when demand exceeds supply, prices rise. In housing, that often results in bidding wars, as we are seeing frequently now.
Goodbye Boston, Hello Marblehead
Mortgage rates dip below 3% – where to next?
“If you’re interested in Marblehead, you have to visit the blog of Mr. Andrew Oliver, author and curator of OliverReports.com. He’s assembled the most comprehensive analysis of Essex County we know of with market data and trends going back decades. It’s a great starting point for those looking in the towns of Marblehead, Sale, Beverly, Lynn and Swampscott.”
Andrew Oliver
REALTOR®
Sagan Harborside Sotheby’s International Realty
One Essex Street | Marblehead, MA 01945
m 617.834.8205
www.OliverReports.com
Andrew.Oliver@SothebysRealty.com
Sotheby’s International Realty® is a registered trademark licensed to Sotheby’s International Realty Affiliates LLC. Each Office Is Independently Owned and Operated
List of currently available properties
With new listings seeing tremendous competition, buyers should also look at the list of all available properties as sometimes properties get overlooked for no apparent reason.
I am posting each week details of all houses and condos currently available for sale (and the links below continually update). Different arrangements are being made for viewing so please contact me to see what is possible. The market is very active at the moment with the number of Accepted Offers back to 2019’s level, despite the fact the inventory is down 35-40%.
Marblehead SFHs For Sale
Marblehead Condos For Sale
Swampscott SFH For Sale
Swampscott Condos For Sale
Salem SFHS For Sale
Salem Condos For Sale
Beverly SFHs For Sale
Beverly Condos For Sale
Lynn SFHs For Sale
Lynn Condos For Sale
Inventory chronically low; demand booming
Goodbye Boston, Hello Marblehead
Accepted Offers soaring and roaring
“If you’re interested in Marblehead, you have to visit the blog of Mr. Andrew Oliver, author and curator of OliverReports.com. He’s assembled the most comprehensive analysis of Essex County we know of with market data and trends going back decades. It’s a great starting point for those looking in the towns of Marblehead, Sale, Beverly, Lynn and Swampscott.”
Andrew Oliver
Market Analyst | Team Harborside | teamharborside.com
REALTOR®
Sagan Harborside Sotheby’s International Realty
One Essex Street | Marblehead, MA 01945
m 617.834.8205
www.OliverReports.com
Andrew.Oliver@SothebysRealty.com
Sotheby’s International Realty® is a registered trademark licensed to Sotheby’s International Realty Affiliates LLC. Each Office Is Independently Owned and Operated
Accepted Offers soaring and roaring
After the sharp drop in April, the number of Accepted Offers has come roaring back:
While June showed an increase, the number of Accepted Offers still shows a 14% decline for the year to date:
Traditionally, July 4th sees the start of a summer slowdown in home sales, in large part because buyers seek to move before the start of the new school year (which is getting earlier and earlier). But that seems likely to change this year as demand continues to be strong.
Goodbye Boston, Hello Marblehead
Inventory chronically low; demand booming
“If you’re interested in Marblehead, you have to visit the blog of Mr. Andrew Oliver, author and curator of OliverReports.com. He’s assembled the most comprehensive analysis of Essex County we know of with market data and trends going back decades. It’s a great starting point for those looking in the towns of Marblehead, Sale, Beverly, Lynn and Swampscott.”
Andrew Oliver
Market Analyst | Team Harborside | teamharborside.com
REALTOR®
Sagan Harborside Sotheby’s International Realty
One Essex Street | Marblehead, MA 01945
m 617.834.8205
www.OliverReports.com
Andrew.Oliver@SothebysRealty.com
Sotheby’s International Realty® is a registered trademark licensed to Sotheby’s International Realty Affiliates LLC. Each Office Is Independently Owned and Operated
Number of Accepted offers Soars
The number of Accepted offers for SFHs in Essex County soared last week by more than 30% compared with the same week last year. This continued the strong, recent trend:
To put this recent trend into perspective, let’s look at monthly figures for 2020 compared with 2019:
and finally the current inventory numbers:
Comment
There is a tremendous demand for properties currently, but it is worth noting that overall Offers are still down some 15% for the year. A reasonable guess is that the market will remain active longer into the summer this year.
Andrew Oliver
Market Analyst | Team Harborside | teamharborside.com
REALTOR®
Sagan Harborside Sotheby’s International Realty
One Essex Street | Marblehead, MA 01945
m 617.834.8205
www.OliverReports.com
Andrew.Oliver@SothebysRealty.com
Sotheby’s International Realty® is a registered trademark licensed to Sotheby’s International Realty Affiliates LLC. Each Office Is Independently Owned and Operated
“If you’re interested in Marblehead, you have to visit the blog of Mr. Andrew Oliver, author and curator of OliverReports.com. He’s assembled the most comprehensive analysis of Essex County we know of with market data and trends going back decades. It’s a great starting point for those looking in the towns of Marblehead, Sale, Beverly, Lynn and Swampscott.”
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