The weather may be cooling off, but the housing market is not following suit. September gave us a historic high for home sale prices in the lower three counties reaching $310,000. There was also a slight increase in inventory and days on the market which are all good trends to see.
In September, our median price was $310,000, which is up 21.6% from September of 2020 and 11.1% from August of 2021. We currently have only 645 active listings in the lower three counties, compared to 723 in September of 2020, and 1371, which is the 5-year average.
Overall, in the three counties, new settlements during September were down 11.7% compared to the same time last year. Individually, new settlements throughout September were up by 10.7% in Somerset, held even in Wicomico, and were down 18.2% in Worcester.
New listings in September were down just slightly at 0.8% compared to the same time last year in all three counties. Individually, new listings were up by 3% in Wicomico, and 31.3% in Somerset, and down 5.2% in Worcester from September of 2020.
Active listings in all three counties were down by 10.8%. Individually, there were 381 active listings in Worcester, 178 in Wicomico, and 86 in Somerset. We had 723 active listings at this time last year.
The Median Cumulative Days on Market (CDOM) for July was eleven (11), or 26.7% less than the same time last year.
“The market is very strong, and it is still a wonderful time to sell your home, but we are also seeing good signs like increasing inventory and days on market which are crucial in order to get back to a more balanced market,”
said CAR President Grace Masten. “Home prices hit historic highs last month and interest rates are still at historic lows so now is the time to both buy and sell.”
“We are also starting to see initiatives from local government partnering with private business to encourage residential developments. After talking about inventory for the last 18 months it is clear that steps are being made to try and remedy the problem. All of these are great trends and if they continue into the new year, we should be able to get back to a more normal market in 2022,” said Masten.
CAR’s monthly local housing statistics are pulled from the Bright Multiple Listing Service, which represents the activity of over 1,000 local REALTORS® in Somerset, Wicomico, and Worcester counties, as well as 95,000 real estate professionals across the Mid-Atlantic region. The Bright MLS service area includes Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Washington, D.C., and West Virginia.
Visit www.coastalrealtors.org for more information.
