The Housing Market: Is it a Buyer or Seller Market now?

by Nick Malouff

The housing market statistics in our area for the year over year period from the end of June 2021 to the end of June 2022 are very interesting and not what many might expect given the changes in interest rates and other economic turmoil.

As one would expect, the number of total listings has increased from 605 at the end of June 2021 to 923 end of June 2022. An increase of 52.6%. This is truly an eye-opening statistic given the tight market over the last several years. Another interesting statistic is that sold listings for June of 2022 came in at 363 compared to 472 for June of 2021. A decrease of 23.1%.  However, on a year-to-date basis of 2022 over 2021 we find that total closed sales year to date were 2155 for June of 2022 and 2245 for YTD June of 2021, a decrease of only 4%.

While much of the sales listing volume data might indicate a Buyer’s market, we are seeing some not so expected results on the pricing and sales of homes. Despite the overall slight slowdown of sales, we find that the median list price has increased 19.78% year over year through June from $455,000 to $545,000! The median sales price has also increased by 15.54 % from $390,000 to $451,000.

The average days on market has increased from 22 for June of 2021 to 25 for June of 2022. Although the number of listings has increased, homes are still selling at a pace that is only slightly slower than 2021.

How do we make sense of these interesting and unexpected numbers? Is this a Buyer’s or Seller’s market? I would say the answer is both.  For Buyer’s, the increase in inventory is good news providing greater selection and a less competitive environment. Although interest rates have gone up, they are still historically low so this could be a great time to buy given that rates are likely to go up even more.

It has been stated many times that this housing market is not like 2008 where prices collapsed dramatically. This time around, we are still struggling to find enough inventory for all buyers but it is improving due to higher interest rates.

Sellers are finding that this is also a good time to sell and many of those who were waiting for the opportunity to sell at the right time may have decided it is time to act. Therefore, we are seeing an increase in the number listings year over year. So, it appears from the data, this market is becoming much more balanced, and it may very well be both a Buyer’s and a Seller’s market!

I am sure there will be more unexpected market statistics in the future as the worry about inflation and a possible recession have an impact on the behavior of both Buyers and Sellers.

The bottom line for the current market is that waiting for the bottom to fall out on home prices could be a losing strategy for buyers and waiting to sell your home to gain even more appreciation could result in a missed opportunity to take advantage of a fairly robust buyer environment while interest rates are still reasonable and prices are holding up.

Nick Malouff is the CEO and co-owner of Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate BloomTree Realty with offices in Prescott, Prescott Valley, Cottonwood and Sedona. To reach Nick or a highly qualified agent, please call 928-925-2023.