July is typically a slower month in residential sales—people are out of town, otherwise occupied with summer projects and travel. July is sort of a black hole when buyers take their eye off the ball and sellers have either already gotten their home under contract or are going to wait until the fall, a new season.

What gives? July has been one my busiest months yet. When inventory remains low, buyers are poised and ready whatever the month. Sellers also understand that they are in the driver’s seat and it matters not what month or season they list—they will sell their home if it is well-prepped.

Some highlights from June:

Homes are going under contract quickly. 54.6% of detached single-family homes and 58.9% of attached homes were under contract in 7 days or less
Home prices continue to increase. The average sales price for a detached single- family home was $530,116. Attached homes hit a new record at $359,692. Home prices have been rising for 6 straight years.

There remains a short supply of homes on the market. 5504 homes were placed on the market in May. A balanced market with a 6-month supply of inventory would require 33,024 active homes.

Mortgage rates have been rising. While some sellers are still managing to sell at over list prices, nearly a quarter of sellers actually had to lower their home prices in April—I’ve actually been noticing this more and more in my property alerts. Buyers have less wiggle room in cost with which to negotiate.

These are broad strokes when describing the real estate market. Whatever you hear on the street, one cannot accurately apply the message uniformly across all zip codes, neighborhoods, and homes. The fact is, the “good” listings (clean, staged, professionally photographed, sufficiently marketed and thus cause buyers to flock) go quick. The “mediocre” listings (could have benefitted from a deep clean, fresh paint, staging, and small improvements, and photos not shot through an i phone) sit for a minute and perhaps could have sold for more had the right prep been done. The “bottom of the barrel” listings sit, and may even exit the market, unsold.

Having a skilled and knowledgeable realtor still matters so that you know where to put your most valuable assets into the sale. Pay attention to the Homebot updates I send out and if the information intrigues you, get in touch. And if you read this and don’t receive updates, give me a shout and I can easily explain it to you and get you set up.

Until then….stay cool out there!