Up or Down?...The March Real Estate Market Update

Hot off the "Actual Statistics" press, it is now time for my MARCH update of how the real estate market is faring in my area of the country - the Massachusetts North Shore, north of Boston.

In January, I wrote a blog entitled "Knowing Exactly When the Market will Change" that received many comments, replies and supportive feedback. In that blog, I stated that as soon as we have 3 consecutive months when more inventory is going off (under contract) than is coming on (new listings) we can expect to once again experience an appreciating market. So where do we stand so far this year?


In JANUARY, in my 22 town Massachusetts North Shore area, 404 single family homes came on the market and 209 single family homes went under contract (off market).

In FEBRUARY, 377 single family homes came on the market on the North Shore and 242 homes went under contract.

In MARCH, 543 single family homes came on the market on the North Shore and 256 homes went under contract. That's more than TWICE as many coming on vs. going off.

The message: Real estate values will continue to decline until this trend reverses. Part of the solution? Sellers need to recognize that it is no longer 2003 and price their homes ahead of the declining price curve.

I will provide another update again in the beginning of May and we'll take a look and see if the market is changing or if we can expect more of the same for a while.