Local markets spotlights 5 different areas across the country, showcasing what is uniquely happening in those housing markets. Local real estate agents, loan officers and appraisers share what characteristics are currently defining their housing markets.
Annapolis, Maryland
Boyd Campbell, a broker at Century 21, has a somewhat reassuring perspective on the current housing market. “The demand for homes is the highest it’s been since 2006,” Campbell said. “But the distinctive difference today is the profile of the buyer. Back then, people really wanted a house but were not qualified to get a mortgage. Today, I am amazed by how many buyers are not only qualified but overqualified.” The median single-family home in Annapolis has jumped 8% in the past year to $476,000, according to numbers Zillow compiled in February. “People are getting priced out of Annapolis,” noted Campbell, who has been a real estate agent in Maryland’s capital for four decades.
Des Moines, Iowa
Lance Hanson has been in residential real estate for 34 years, but he struggles to make sense of today’s housing market. On the one hand, homes are more expensive. Properties in Des Moines and neighboring West Des Moines and Ankeny that sold for $200,000 last year are now going for $280,000, and home renovation costs jumped 15% over that time. On the other hand, prices are apparently not going up enough, because homes leave the housing market after being listed for three days. The high-demand, low-inventory market creates an ethical quandary for Hanson, who manages hundreds of agents at a RE/MAX franchise office. “I get 3-15 immediate offers on each home,” Hanson said. “How do you process that? How do you do right with both the buyers’ and buyers’ agent?”
Fairfield, Connecticut
Jonathan Miller, real estate appraiser at Miller Samuel and a Nutmeg State resident himself, pumps out quarterly reports on Connecticut home sales and the local housing markets. The takeaways from Fairfield County’s first quarter 2021 report are rather jaw-dropping. The report found the highest number of sales in quarter one in more than 16 years, and the third highest average and median sales price on record. As for housing supply? The lowest level in more than 25 years. For those keeping score at home, Fairfield County’s median sales price for January through March was $489,000. The active listing inventory is 1,679 homes, down 57% from one year ago. And in the tug of war between low supply and high demand, demand for now is winning: the number of homes sold in the southwest Connecticut county were 3,045 in the first three months of 2021 – a 43% jump from one year before.
Atlanta, Georgia
What’s happening in Atlanta’s housing market is distinct, as there are few zoning restrictions in the increasingly sprawling Southern metropolis. “Atlanta just keeps growing and growing,” said Cleve Gaddis, a RE/MAX agent in the northeast suburb of Johns Creek. Under the 1980s Steinberg Act, Gaddis explained, “The burden lies in proving why people shouldn’t build.” Still, prices are going up and buyers are competing with investors. One Atlanta agent said she’s inundated with radio and YouTube ads by national iBuying companies OpenDoor and OfferPad offering cash for Peachtree State properties.
Manchester, New Hampshire
Jeff Rapson of Coco Realty represents homebuyers and sellers across New Hampshire. In March, he identified a home in Manchester listed at $250,000, as one he thought might be suited to a client, so Rapson signed up for a showing — and waited and waited for an available time. “I finally got something at 7:45 p.m. on a Sunday evening,” he said. “There were 108 showings and 50 offers.” A home that had been listed on the housing market for $250,000 went for $299,000. “That’s pretty typical,” Rapson said. “Everyone is pretty desperate now. We are probably 30,000 homes behind where we should be with state inventory.”
To view the full June magazine, go here.
