Seasonal slump in housing inventory

Much like the temperature, housing inventory is extremely low at the start of the New Year in Essex County. Overall, the number of available Single Family Homes (SFHs) is down 3% from a year ago, but down a whopping 34% since the beginning of October.

Needless to say, as in everything else in New England, the weather is a major factor in the seasonal slump. How many people went house-hunting after the storm? But with inventory so low, a period of mild weather in the next couple of months could trigger a buying rush much as we saw last winter.

If you are thinking of selling in the spring, it may be a good idea to start getting ready now.

Here are the inventory numbers for each quarter over the last year, earliest to latest. The last two columns show the percentage change year over year (YOY) and since October (Q4). Note that Marblehead’s inventory is down 29% YOY and 41% Q4:

Source: MLS, Oliver Reports

While condo inventory for Essex County is down 7% YOY (and 28% Q4), on the North Shore it has dropped 20% YOY and 30% Q4. Ipswich and Marblehead have both seen drops of 50% or more YOY.  Going the other way is Swampscott, which saw a number of new developments come to market in 2013.

Source: MLS, Oliver Reports

These numbers confirm last week’s post about the tightness of the condo market in Marblehead, where sales in the second half of 2013 were the highest in any six months since 2005.

In a general article such as this I do not have room to post a more detailed break-down by price or location, so if you have any questions please contact me.

If you are considering buying or selling a home and have questions about the market and/or current home prices, feel free to contact me on 781.631.1223 or [email protected].

Andrew Oliver is a Realtor with Harborside Realty in Marblehead.