We hope you and your family have weathered another tough year and that this finds you healthy and happy.
Following is a review of the 2021 market and our outlook for 2022.
You’ll also find market data for a few of the towns that we serve, along with highlights from our 2021 sales and listings.
HISTORIC SELLER’S MARKET CONTINUED
Anyone who expected the local 2020 real estate market to be an anomaly will be surprised to find that the trends that drove a historic seller’s market sustained or even increased in intensity in 2021. We had early indications of this when we saw the lines out to the street for our Spring open houses.
Buyers touring remotely via video was something that seemed like a quirk of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 but it became par for the course as an efficient way to see properties, and not just for people relocating from other regions of the country and world.
Though offices reopened, many employers decided to continue to allow their employees to work from home. This trend highlighted the evergreen attraction points to the suburbs — primarily more space inside and out to work from home and entertain. It also allowed homeowners who have the flexibility to work remotely to sell at historically high values and relocate someplace where they’re not tied to a specific commute.
SELECT TOWN NUMBERS
Below are market numbers from several select towns. If you are interested in other towns, please give us a call and we’re happy to fill you in.
In Lexington, inventory was still down, so was the number of sales. There were 390 sales of single-family homes in 2020 and 358 in 2021. But 2020 sales averaged 100% of asking prices, while 2021 averaged 106%. The median price of all sold single-family homes rose from $1,341,00 to $1,549,000 year-over-year.
Lincoln’s trend was similar; the number of sales was 61 in 2020 with an average of 97% of list price. In 2021, there were 58 sales with 103% of listing prices. The median jumped from $1.375m to $1.458m.
Arlington had more sales (307 over 264) and an average price jump from 102% to 109%. The median increased from $870,000 to $950,000.
Carlisle was off the charts. The town had 69 sales in 2021 and 85 in 2020. The average sale price jumped from 97% to 106%. The change in the median was astonishing: from $921,000 to $1,300,000.
All in all, another great year for sellers and a challenging one for buyers, though mortgage rates remained low and their buying power high, contributing to the increases in prices.
JANOVITZ+TSE 2021 NUMBERS
We are humbled by your referrals and belief in our team. The Janovitz + Tse Team closed over $65 million in sales in 2021. Most of our listings had multiple offers and winning bids were often cash with no contingencies whatsoever. Thanks to our wonderful clients past and present for helping us continue to achieve new milestones. Our team members Karen Butt and Tiffany Bagster had great success. It was Tiffany’s first full year as an agent and she sold over $6 million, and she is only gaining momentum. Karen knocked it out of the park, as always.
LOOKING FORWARD
We believe demand will remain, or even increase in 2022. Historically low mortgage rates are allowing people maximum buying power. Rates will almost certainly increase over the year, which might spur demand even more intensely, as buyers race to lock in rates. Demand is already high and the rate of supply does not seem like it will increase markedly. If you are thinking of selling, Spring 2022 is shaping up to be another Seller’s Market. Give us a call and we’ll fill you in on what’s happening in the market for your home – in real-time. We can guide you through the process and get you the best price and offer possible.
To sign up for our very sporadically-sent newsletter, please email us at janovitz.tse at compass dot com.
