Don’t Wait Until Spring!

January 30, 2021

Century 21 - Jeff Lesley,

We have all had these thoughts cross our minds when it comes to selling a home: What is the hottest time for the real estate market?, Should I wait until springtime?, Things slow down around the holidays. Some of these phrases are true during a normal year, but 2021 has been far from normal − the same is true in the real estate market! So far this year, I have sold 98 properties and currently have 36 more under contract. Now is the time to sell!

As we all know, COVID-19 slowed our market a bit in early 2020, but the market then roared back. In a normal year, we would see another slowdown in August once school starts back, but that was not the case. Parents adapted to new procedures as some schools went back, others went fully virtual, and some staggered. We are still operating in a wide-open market as buyers are taking advantage of some of the lowest interest rates we have seen − as low as 2.5% fixed!

Where is all the demand coming from? A large portion of the buyers in our market have always come from the New England area. As buyers continue to flee out of larger cities, more and more of them are taking notice of what Wilmington has to offer. Remote employment has been a portion of our market for years, but typically only from Charlotte and Raleigh-based firms. As remote employment now becomes more of the norm in our society, why would someone not want to work from a home only minutes to the beach? All these factors are currently driving our market to even higher levels. The normal cycles are not at play.

According to the Cape Fear Realtors Association, when comparing August 2020 to August 2019 in the tri-county area (New Hanover, Pender, and Brunswick), closed sales are up 18.5%, pending sales are up 52.4% year over year (contracts in August), days on market are down to 65 days, and the median sales price is up 9.4% to $273,500, giving us only a 2 month supply of inventory. If you look at New Hanover County alone, the median sales price is up 20.1% − up to $298,808 from $248,667 compared to August of last year! This means that August 2020 is much hotter in sales, contracts, price, and how quickly your home will sell compared to August 2019.

Why wait to sell? You can’t control the election, unemployment impacts, what spring will look like, or if we will see a resurgence of the virus. There is no reason to wait. When is the best time to sell? The answer is now! Take advantage of this increased demand that is causing prices to climb and put the most money in your pocket. And of course, hire the #1 Individual Agent in the Cape Fear Region across all brands to help you do just that. Call or text 910-297-7071, email JLesley@Century21Sweyer.com or visit
www.WilmingtonsTopAgent.com. Let’s get your home sold!