Community Corner
What’s Happening In The Wakefield And Melrose Real Estate Market?
The number one question asked by friends, family and clients: How's the market?
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It’s a loaded question. Let’s break down some truths, current numbers and share what we’re seeing locally. The first thing I always tell my clients is that what you hear in the national news outlets is not a good reflection of what’s happening locally.
Inventory is extremely low! As i’m writing this article on 1/12, here is the most recent snapshot:
- Wakefield: 7 single family homes, 15 pending
- Melrose: 7 single family homes, 19 pending
- Reading: 13 single family homes, 16 pending
- Medford: 15 single family homes, 21 pending
- Stoneham: 10 single family homes, 9 pending
The average market time is a bit skewed. This fall the escalating rates sidelined many buyers and property sat longer than normal. This left seller’s either pulling their listing from the market or just waiting it out until the new year (much like my own seller’s at 14 Winship Drive, Wakefield).
We also saw homes in lower price points move a bit faster than those at the top of a towns price range, this is true for our surrounding neighbors in Medford, Winchester and Reading. This is typically what we see every year which makes sense.
So what will happen this spring? Many economists and professionals are cautiously optimistic that we’ll see a strong market this spring. We probably won’t see the extreme bids we saw in the 2020- early 2022 markets. However, rates are dropping, there is a strong labor market, strong jobs report and low inventory. There are also many factors that make Boston/Greater Boston a strong housing market: we have world renowned hospitals and universities, a growing life sciences sector, competitive salaries, a major transit hub, and for better or worse, our inventory supply has failed to keep up with demand for years. See the above numbers again that show our inventory levels in town. Just this week we saw much of the new inventory to hit the market go under agreement right away, especially in the lower price points. The national news reports that sales prices are plummeting, but we’re just not seeing that here.
Most lenders agree we won’t return to the interest rates of 3%, but it is still possible to get rates in the 4’s and 5’s. If you’re in the market for a home and you’ve been sidelined by the competition over the past few years now could be a great time to look. We are seeing fewer bidding wars, and buyers with lower down payments are able to secure homes. Start a conversation with a Realtor who knows the market and can guide you to local banks with competitive rates, can walk you through different contingency options, knows how to negotiate credits for a rate buy down and more.
Where should you be looking for the most accurate and recent information on homes for sale? A Realtor can set you up to receive direct email listings from MLS, MLS is our central database where all agents list homes for sales - that information then is syndicated to other websites. You can certainly look on sites like Trulia and Zillow, but that information is pulled from MLS and we’ve found it doesn’t often pull accurately or timely. If you prefer an app to search: I like Realtor.com and the new William Raveis app.
If you’re considering buying or selling this year and would like to meet to discuss the market, I would love to meet with you. You can learn more about me: SamanthaBoston.com
Samantha Jason Lehman is a full-time Realtor and Partner with The Residential Group at William Raveis Real Estate, the #1 WRRE Sales Team in MA and ranked in the Top 1% company-wide. Samantha has been representing buyers, sellers, developers, and investors throughout the Greater Boston market for the past 15 years. In that time she has closed over 125+ Million in residential sales ranging from small condominiums, luxury lofts, single-family homes, and mixed-use developments. She resides in Wakefield with her husband, their two children, and two pups. Learn more: SamanthaBoston.com
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