Delayed Gratification
"Last January, it took an average of 61 days to sell a home," stated another broker. "And now, according to the report, we are up to 92 days on the market. This is still lower than where we were in January 2020 (107 DOM), before the pandemic." Overall pending sales decreased 8 percent in January to 933 pending sales compared to 1,010 pending sales in January 2024. Incidentally, there were 892 pending sales in January 2020, when home values were half of what they are today. "Home sales by out-of-state buyers are lagging a little because sales are still soft in many northern states," the broker continued. "Despite this, the January report indicates a very healthy first month of the year for real estate."
According to a local Managing Broker, "many sellers also delayed putting their homes on the market earlier this year because they were unwilling to give up a 3 percent mortgage rate. But I think more people are beginning to accept that 6 to 7 percent interest rates are the norm now." Further, "There was a dip in interest rates finally in September, and I think many people who were on the fence were expecting another decrease last year. When the new administration took office this January, some buyers realized that dip wasn't coming as promised. Thats about when we saw a big increase in new listings during January."
