JP's Anemic Housing Market: Please Feed the Buyers!

What happens when you cross low interest rates, rising rents, 6-7 years of market flat-lining, and an anemic housing market inventory?  The answer is that properties are going under agreement almost as fast as they're coming on the market.  My colleague, Will Brokhof, used the term "shooting gallery" and I think that's a pretty apt description. 

Of the 124 condo properties on the market in Jamaica Plain, 31 are listed as "under agreement" and 14 have been flagged as having "accepted offers."   That's 36%.  Over the past month, the rate of absorption is showing 30%, which by any standard, qualifies as a 'robust' market.  

Just last week, two units on my street, Glade Avenue, came to market and were under agreement within days; one had multiple offers.   When priced and/or marketed well, properties have buyers locking horns to get it.    

Seeing these multiple offer scenarios is a little unnerving.  Don't get me wrong, it's wonderful to see consumer confidence returning to local real estate but it's as if we've shifted overnight from a buyers' to a sellers' market, it's easy for folks to get excited and make unrealistic bids.  

Part of this correlates to the lack of inventory.  Buyers are hungry for inventory. Last year at this time there were nearly TWICE as many condos available for purchase as there are now.  And I would venture that for various reasons there are more ready and capable buyers now than last year.    

Neighborhoods like Roslindale and Hyde Park have been a little slower to wake up, but as they've always historically shadowed their more desirable neighbors.  Not to pat myself on the back, but I did make this prediction back in November and again one month ago today.   I would expect this high level of activity to continue into the Summer.  

While it may not be the case for the rest of the country or even the rest of the state, the Boston housing market seems to be showing signs of awakening.  

There is still a shortage of good, quality inventory at fair and reasonable prices.  If you're in the market to buy, don't sleep on something you like if you feel there's value there because it almost certainly won't be there next week.   I personally don't see us returning to 2005 when the buyer market behaved like a ginned up sailor on a 24 hour leave with a pocket full cash.  I think this is natural spike that is more like a growth spurt after a long period of stasis. 

It seems that on a daily basis I'm hearing about new properties ready to come to market over the next few weeks, so we're definitely experiencing the first surge of the spring market tide.  Make sure you have a buyer agent who can offer you timely advice on whether you may be bidding too much or not enough; believe me, folks do still pay too much at times and sellers sometimes undervalue their property.  

Back to the trenches.