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November 17, 2005

Holiday homebuyers: 1 in 5 homes sells for at least 10% off, expect more this year!

Exps_111704_05_2How much excess housing inventory is on the market in Massachusetts compared to past years, and what will that mean to holiday homebuyers?  According a Boston Globe article entitled, Season can leave buyers in good cheer (November 30, 2003)

"...November and December are typically the two months with the fewest number of houses for sale. Between 1997 and 2002, the average number of homes on the market in Massachusetts in any given month was 33,636. The November average was 29,733, and the December average was 28,378."

Two years later, a simple tally of MLS listings in Massachusetts shows 44,646 single family, condominium, and multi-family properties currently on the market.  Add land parcels, and that number rises to 47,476 listings.  If you use the first figure, the inventory is up by 50% over November 2003.  If you use the second, inventory is up over 60%. 

What's that mean for the average homebuyer?  As The Real Estate Cafe told the Boston Globe in November 2003, end of season markdowns make the holidays an ideal time for homebuyers to bargain hunt:

According to [our] analysis of listing data between 1996 and 2002, one in five Massachusetts properties that went under agreement between Thanksgiving and New Year's Day sold for at least 10 percent below the original asking price. 

Larger savings are possible this year because of the oversupply of inventory and the soaring number of expired listings as shown in the graph above (click on image for larger view).  If you'd like to learn how you can time the market to maximize your savings and stretch your savings enough further with our unrivaled commission rebates, give us a call at 617-661-4046 or email us [email protected].

Bill Wendel | 11:37 PM in In the News, Market trends, Real Estate Bubble, Savings & Rebates, Timing the market | Permalink

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CORRECTION: MLS figures reported in the blog post above included some active listings in neighboring states. When search parameters were limited to Massachusetts, slightly lower figures were revealed. The sentence above should read:

"Two years later, a simple tally of MLS listings in Massachusetts shows 43,303 single family, condominium, and multi-family properties currently on the market. Add land parcels, and that number rises to 46,008 listings. If you use the first figure, the inventory is up by 46% over the five year average from 1997 to 2002. If you use the second, inventory is up over 55%."

While the oversupply of housing may have been overstated by approximately 5%, the magnitude of the trend is still accurate and the excess inventory -- 13,570 dwelling units or 16,275 listings including land -- should create greater opportunities for off-seasons savings than in previous years. Watch upcoming posts for additional detail.

Posted by: RealEstateCafe | Nov 22, 2005 8:45:03 PM

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