The Market is Shifting

It’s no secret that our local real estate market has been a little unpredictable as of late.  Based on the most recent statistics for South Central PA, things seem to be on the upswing after a more mild end of 2022.

• More buyers are interesting in touring homes. During the week ending February 5, there was a total of 78,770 showings in the SCPA region. Showings on homes slowed considerably in November and December but has begun to steadily increase. While the number of showings is still below where it was last year, showing activity did increase by 10.6% compared to a week ago.
• Offers are coming in a little more quickly. The median days on market during the week ending February 5 was 17 which is two days faster than a week ago. Throughout the late fall and into the first part of 2023, the median days on market had been increasing. Now, as buyers begin to return to the market, they are finding that there is competition for available homes for sale.
• Sellers might be coming back, as well. We saw buyers begin to come back to the market in January as mortgage rates fell, and now there is some evidence that sellers may be ready to jump back in as well. In the week ending February 5, a total of 5,908 new listings came onto the market across the Bright MLS footprint. This is about the same number of new listings during the same week last year and is 27.6% higher than a week ago. Prospective sellers may be seeing the uptick in buyer traffic as an encouraging sign, leading more to list their homes in advance of the spring housing market.