Remember the $8,000 homebuyer tax credit? Remember how it pulled demand forward and compressed the 2010 real estate market (in Charlottesville at least)?
In trying to figure out the first part of 2014, that’s the best sort-of-analogy I can make. So far, things are looking less awesome than they would appear. There are so many nuances that I tend to look at for clients – new construction versus resale, proximity to whatever it is that is important to them and that particular sub-real estate market, interest rates, ability to walk or bike to groceries and more. But. For a brief high-level look –
It looks like the first two months of 2014 were slower than the first two months of 2013 and March is when the market starts to pick up.
Remember – Normal” is “Now”
Still trying to figure this out …
For context, let’s look at 2012 versus 2013:
And for the full 12 months –
Anecdotally in the City and close-in county, I think the market is red hot. My neighbors across the street had an offer and contract without even listing, and I’ve seen 3 other houses close by go under contract with under 30 days on the market. I guess we are yet to enter the main selling/buying season, but so far I have been surprised.
I’m not involved in the real estate industry, but this is the hottest I have seen it in several years, at least from my front porch in the City. One the other side of the various statistical medians are probably outdated houses, or places with unrealistic asking prices based upon “what I paid for it/ what I need to break even”.