Essex County Housing Market: demand up, supply down

Some things don’t change around here: the Patriots are going to the Super Bowl and housing inventory continues to decline.

The number of Single Family Homes (SFH) for sale
I show below the number of SFHs for sale on the 1st of each month since 2014 and the average number for the year. Between 2014 and 2016 the average number of SFHs for sale dropped 25% from 1,648 to 1,236.

Source: MLS, Oliver Reports

Fewer homes for sale, more homes selling
While average inventory is down 25% the number of sales has increased by 14% in the last two years.

And months of supply have dropped
While it is customary to talk about housing inventory in terms of the number of months of sales represented by current inventory, that can be a little misleading in a seasonal market like New England’s. In the chart and table below, I compare annual sales with the average monthly number of SFHs for sale, and translate those numbers into annual averages of months of supply.

Source: MLS, Oliver Reports

These numbers show that, in just two years, sales have increased from 3.4 times average monthly inventory to 5.1 times, an increase of 50%; while the number of months of supply has dropped by one-third from 3.5 to 2.3.

Conclusion
Often, the trend is more important than the actual numbers. In the case of the Essex County housing market, however, both the numbers and the trend tell the same story: supply is down and the demand is up, a recipe for higher prices.

Not sure how to choose the  broker to sell your home? Read  Which broker should I choose to sell my house?

Please contact me on 617.834.8205 or Andrew.Oliver@SothebysRealty.com for a free market analysis and explanation of the outstanding marketing program I offer

If you are looking to buy, I will contact you immediately when a house that meets your needs is available. In this market you need to have somebody looking after your interests.

Andrew Oliver is a Realtor with Harborside Sotheby’s International Realty. Each Office Is Independently Owned and Operated

@OliverReports