Happy holidays to you and your family! This will likely be the last Market Update we send out before the Holidays as the week of January 1st will be the next trending date we watch heavily. December real estate has resembled selling activity of 2013-2017 where it will likely be one of the 3-4 biggest selling months.
Case Shiller Index always reports on quarter in arrears, so we wanted to go ahead and let you know in “real-time” what we’re seeing on the ground. When we look at the last 18 months in review, here’s a quick recap:
December in 2018 was an anomaly and reflected the affordability correction that began in July of 2018. We began to report showing activity and sales on our Market Report slowing down last July and on November 26, 2018, we finally got our first headline.
It took the market until the Spring of 2019 for Buyers and Sellers to admit that the market was indeed needing to adjust and that pricing had become out of reach for many homebuyers wanting to enter the market. What is keeping our market from a drastic softening is our incredibly strong labor market, relocation of companies to DFW and historically low interest rates.
As we look to December 2019, activity is higher, Buyers are wanting to move and are more serious and homes are selling. The key difference is that the “pie in the sky” numbers of 2017 are not a reality of 2019. The Sellers that have success move their pricing and understand that Buyers have 15-20% more to choose from, so they are making offers on more motivated Sellers first. We must work with Buyers’ motivation and Sellers are coming to terms that this is the “new norm.”
We anticipate 2020 being a strong real estate market for North Texas and with a more balanced market, Buyers and Sellers are both able to find a win-win. Do we have to work harder? Yes. Do Sellers and Buyers have to work together more instead of an “I win, you lose” scenario? Yes. This market is one where opportunities are made, reasonable deals are had, and great homes are sold.
Cheers to a strong 2020 and we look forward to helping you accomplish your real estate goals as we wrap 2019 and roll into 2020.
Seychelle & team
