Single Family Homes in the 10 Central Contra Costa County cities that we most often work in: Alamo, Clayton, Concord, Danville, Lafayette, Martinez, Moraga, Orinda, Pleasant Hill, and Walnut Creek.
The first quarter of 2024 has been a very active market in all the wrong ways but still showing signs of life in the most important way. Market and industry forces that have worked against both buyers and sellers include: 1) Lower than typical first quarter inventory. 2) Higher interest rates than the past number of years but similar to the average over the past 40 years. 3) Insurance, the challenge is finding affordable new policies on most properties, and on those in a high fire risk area, finding coverage at all. And as a bonus factor hanging over the market is the National Association of Realtors (NAR) lawsuit settlement, raising questions on how agents are and should be compensated.
Looking at the graphs above you can see that the number of homes for sale during the first quarter is down ~40% from two years ago just as the interest rates started to climb. The rates have stabilized and depending on economic indicators, may even go down later this year. You can also see that home prices have gone down during that same time period even as list prices have all gone up with an average of sold price 10% lower than the average list price. If we were to dig into the details we would find that well prepared homes are still selling in short time frames with multiple offers. While sellers who do a minimum of home preparation and expect top dollar are disappointed in both how long it takes to sell and in the price their homes are commanding.
Lastly, the NAR lawsuit is leaving consumers and agents unsure what to expect. Changes are expected by mid-July, we just don’t know what will be mandated and what will be new best practices. At the very least we promise transparency as well as clear communication and expectations with all our clients, both buyers and sellers.
