Grassland Monthly Real Estate Recap: February 2021
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Let's just start by chewing on this. Some details, I mean. Not a picture of a kitchen light.
But this kitchen is a good example of why details matter - especially in the market we're in right now. This hanging Capiz chandelier caught my attention in a home I was touring earlier this week for a set of out-of-state Buyer clients. I stopped and took a quick picture, not necessarily because I love it, but because I appreciated the detail and how the detail played into the bigger picture to make the whole kitchen "work."
Looking straight-on at the kitchen, the shell chandeliers aren't even the focal point. But they're what first drew my eye to this area of the house, and I saw the rest of the kitchen as a whole. Overall, I was pleased by what I saw.
You could say the details in our Real Estate market are very much the same way. I'm getting a lot of emails and calls from potential Sellers right now who don't yet have the confidence to hit the market, until we talk details. And even just a few details can paint a picture of potential.
Enormous Gains in February
You would never know we had a snow-nami last month. That whole week we were stuck at home with no school and were forced to go sledding seemed to only impact the number of homes that sold. Compared to February 2020, 40 fewer homes hit the market in Williamson County this February, but the ones that sold averaged a $799,265 sales price!
This is I N C R E D I B L E.
This means homes in Williamson County sold for about $151,000 higher on average in February 2021 than in February 2020. Even more incredible: The average sales price jumped by $50,000 between January 2021 & February 2021!
Getting even more specific, our Grassland is among the top areas of Williamson County, bringing up these averages. We actually had an increase in the number of homes sold year-to-year in February. Here's how the sales price averages shake out in our surrounding areas:
- Grassland February 2020: $1,079,051 ----> Grassland February 2021: $1,184,855: +$105,804
- Franklin February 2020: $703,653 --------> Franklin February 2021: $836,623: +$132,970
- Brentwood February 2020: $889,858 ----> Brentwood February 2021: $1,300,822 +$410,964
Trends like this are being mirrored nationwide, with Redfin data reporting the median home sales price and 4-week rolling average of median asking prices also hit new highs, as of February 28th.
Today's Market Strategy
This sounds absurd, but our home prices, Buyers' temperament, and strategies to win in this market are changing by the week lately. It's a phenomenon that I've heard 40-year Real Estate veterans say they've never experienced.
This means ALL of these variables are changing weekly:
- Home Values (and therefore, where Sellers should list to get the most out of their investment)
- Strategies for pricing & getting offers (homes that are priced too high are losing right now, believe it or not)
- Buyer temperament (just this week, I've noticed a slight slow-down in the Buyer frenzy. Emphasis on slight.)
- More inventory coming to market (as Sellers gain confidence compared to this time last year, plus builders are creating more homes.)
- Interest Rates (on the rise again, and therefore potentially impacting Buyer habits.)
This crazy increase in home values -- and the frenzy that has caused it-- won't last forever. There's speculation about how long it will last, but no one really has a crystal ball.
I don't expect we'll see a market crash anytime soon, but we could very well see a correction which just slows down our rate of price increases. Among the topics of discussion are mortgage interest rates.
A Freddie Mac chart, showing the latest data in mortgage interest rate trends, shows 3.02% for a 30-year fixed rate brings us back to where we were in July 2020. This is after rates bottomed out at 2,65% in January. Industry experts expect this upward trend to continue (in fact, last month, many didn't expect we'd hit 3% until closer to Christmas).
Freddie Mac economist Sam Khater says, “While purchase activity remains high, it has cooled off over the last few weeks and is currently on par with early March, prior to the pandemic.”
Digesting the Details
I hope these details are making you hungry to hit the market. But in all likelihood, you may just be getting indigestion.
To Buyers, I say don't worry. this won't last forever.
To Sellers, I say, this won't last forever.
Look to the details to decipher the whole picture, and make the best decision you can based on current market conditions when you're ready.
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If you need more details about selling or buying a home, please reach out to me for some honest advice. I’m a Grassland area resident and I’m a Two-Time Platinum Award-Winning Williamson County REALTOR® ranking in the top 1.5%. I have been featured on TV and my success is the topic of an article in the July 2020 edition of Nashville Real Producers magazine. But most importantly, I specialize in helping my friends and neighbors buy and sell homes!
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