13 Jun March 2023 Housing Report
Please take a peek at the March 2023 housing report. You can also find the brief synopsis read here, or get lost in the numbers.
As we have been discussing for quite some time, our first negative year over year comparison has finally made an appearance. Although modest (-0.6%), the expectation for a healthier drop in the coming months is still certainly on the horizon. However, there is a key component that buyers and sellers alike must take into consideration when interpreting this information. Reports such as these are looking backwards. While this may come as an obvious observation, the significance should not be overlooked since it can skew a behavior. This can best be explained through a quick example.
Let’s say Buyer A sees a property come online listed at $500,000. Reading this message and subsequent articles, they start to believe, “Yes! This is amazing news for me. Next month I can probably get even more of a discount!” The problem with this reaction is that the market constantly evolves meaning prices today have already adjusted accordingly. To put another way, that $500,000 house 12 months ago probably would have been listed for $525,000-$550,000. For most listings, the decrease is already baked in and this is exactly why you are still seeing multiple offers in the face of pricing declines.
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