
Local real estate had a landmark year in 2021. According to the annual report released by Huntingdon County Board of Realtors, more homes sold faster and at higher prices than the market has seen in recent memory.
Board of Realtors president Tim Schrack said it may have been the most profitable year the group has even seen.
“In my memory, for the board itself, that looks like our best year yet,” said Schrack.
Schrack thinks the market surge was driven by the COVID-19 pandemic which halted the American economy before spending incentives were introduced to jumpstart markets for a comeback. The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) reduced interest rates to historic lows, and stimulus funding issued to most Americans prompted increased spending in almost all markets.
These economic forces mixed with folks transitioning to remote work structures prompted many families to upgrade or relocate in the later half of 2020. It seems that spending also continued well into 2021.
The average selling price of a home in Huntingdon County last year was $172,727. In 2019, the average was only $144, 486, and was roughly $6,000 lower in 2018. In 2018, houses were also spending an average of 121 days on the market before selling. Last year, houses went in half the time at an average of 67 days with many selling much faster.
“This year most of our houses sold in 30 days or less, and to me, that’s just outstanding,” said Schrack.
This data was gathered using the board’s Multiple Listing Service (MLS) which is a tool to help brokers work together and share listings with each other. The Board of Realtors uses the data from its MLS to provide a snapshot of local sales over a given period.
In 2020, many homes were selling quickly because of short inventory. Only 227 new listings came on the market that year. This was a huge drop from the approximately 280 listings in both 2018 and 2019. However, supply returned last year with 275 homes coming onto the market. That increase in supply hardly slowed the market down.
“We always felt like we had no inventory, but the problem wasn’t the inventory. We had the average number of houses coming onto the market, they were just selling too fast,” said Schrack.
Fast sales at higher prices have brought a record boost to local Realtors, but also proved difficult for those looking to find a new home.
“It was like the biggest feast in 40, 50 years for real estate, but it was frustrating for the buyer,” said Schrack.
He said those difficulties may not last much longer. There were signs that the market was starting to slow in the fall. Homes that would have seen six offers at or above asking price in the spring were getting a more modest two offers by the fall.
Schrack said most of the folks who were eager to buy new residences have already made the move. Most of the homes that are still selling at such high prices are more like vacation homes around the lake.
The FOMC has also started to show signs of raising interest rates as early as March to combat inflation and slow spending. This may stabilize the housing market by the end of the year, but like most markets right now, anything can happen.