Market Update | December 2023
December marked a slow month for our market: we saw only 1,725 new listings all month. Inventory remained low as well, with only 4,971 active listings on the market by month’s end, down over 25% from November. We do expect inventory to increase rapidly in 2024, however, as interest rates continue to normalize and sellers grow tired of waiting to list.
Perhaps in part due to the consistently slow market and lack of inventory, sales volume was down for 2023 as compared to the two years prior. We saw only 41,480 transactions close in 2023, an 18% drop as compared to 2022, and 35% drop as compared to 2021.
Fluctuating interest rates were likely a cause of the decline in sales as well. After a volatile year that saw interest rates peak at 8% and drop to the mid-5% range, we ended the year with interest rates at 6.6% (which, oddly enough, is right where we started the year). The Federal Reserve is expected to begin cutting interest rates this summer; if that expectation comes to fruition, we anticipate buyer demand will quickly increase in response.
Despite interest rate pressures and a lower transaction volume throughout 2023, our market held steady price-wise, with an average close price for 2023 of $679,710, down only 0.16% from 2022. The median close price was $578K, down only 1.70 % from 2022.
In 2024, we expect interest rates to continue to normalize, sales volume to pick up, and prices to rise by an average of 4 to 6 percent.
Go Back Perhaps in part due to the consistently slow market and lack of inventory, sales volume was down for 2023 as compared to the two years prior. We saw only 41,480 transactions close in 2023, an 18% drop as compared to 2022, and 35% drop as compared to 2021.
Fluctuating interest rates were likely a cause of the decline in sales as well. After a volatile year that saw interest rates peak at 8% and drop to the mid-5% range, we ended the year with interest rates at 6.6% (which, oddly enough, is right where we started the year). The Federal Reserve is expected to begin cutting interest rates this summer; if that expectation comes to fruition, we anticipate buyer demand will quickly increase in response.
Despite interest rate pressures and a lower transaction volume throughout 2023, our market held steady price-wise, with an average close price for 2023 of $679,710, down only 0.16% from 2022. The median close price was $578K, down only 1.70 % from 2022.
In 2024, we expect interest rates to continue to normalize, sales volume to pick up, and prices to rise by an average of 4 to 6 percent.