How’s the Market in Columbia County? October Recap

I can’t believe how fast this month is moving.  When it’s dark at 4:30pm, the days just fly by.  Well let’s take a quick look back at what happened in October. 

📈 Interest rates hit 8%, the highest in 20+ years. Home sales continued to slow as a result. Rates dipped in the first week of November but are already creeping back up and the Fed may have one more rate increase coming in December. 

So will prices or interest rates come down anytime soon?  Probably not. Inventory in Columbia County remains tight overall, which will keep prices stable. 

But there’s a lot of price adjustments happening right now, so the market is heading for a crash, right? It’s more likely one of these reasons: Aspirational pricing doesn’t match the condition.  Not as much buyer activity has sellers panicked. Sellers don’t want to carry the home thru the winter. 

Price appreciation also slows down seasonally, but overall home values in this area continue to rise, just at a slower rate than recent years.

💵 I have been asked multiple times how much of the market are cash deals.  So I pulled the stats for y’all.  

This year 47% of all residential home sales in Columbia County have been cash.  

In 2022 cash deals made up 38% of all home sales.  

In 2021 and 2020 cash deals made up 37% of all home sales with a significantly higher number of transactions.

This year 68.6% of all sales above $1M have been cash, while only 42.5% of sales under $500K and 45.7% of sales between $500K and $1M have been cash.

🤔 Interesting right?  

We have about 7 months of inventory which is considered a Buyers market.  So for buyers that are still in the game, the next few months are a great time to negotiate a good deal with favorable terms.  

In October sale price to list price ratio in the first 30 days on market was 100.72%, which is down slightly from September but still strong. It shows the importance of getting the price right from the start.  Since we are now in a Buyers market, sellers should make sure they have completed necessary repairs, deep cleaned, decluttered and staged before listing so their home stands out amongst the competition.

If you are thinking of buying or selling now or in the near future, or just curious and want more insight on the market, book a discovery call with me at a time that’s convenient for you.