Are We About to Flip Into a Buyers Market?!

As we begin the dive into summer, I wanted to take a look back through the annals of time at one of the foundational pillars of American history, my newsletter from April 9th, 2024 (Volume 128). In that edition of the newsletter I discussed how the market was coming out of its winter hibernation because we were starting to see a consistent flow of new listings pop up. That trend has continued over the past eight weeks as listing after listing continues to hit the market, 415 of them in total since 4/1/24, which is 125 more than last year during that same two month stretch. Later in Volume 128, I pontificated on the hope that these new listings would draw buyers out from their lairs of rate induced angst and despair, swing and a miss. While 415 new listings came to market since April 1st, 2024, only 168 listings sold in that same period (for reference, 290 listings hit the market and 153 listings sold in 2023 during those eight weeks). As the numbers show, the tidal wave of summer inventory is here, but willing and able buyers are still hesitant to jump in. You can absolutely point to

interest rates (7.17% as of 10:55pm 5/31/24), but our local economy isn't helping much either. Between some of the highest gas prices in the nation, and seemingly ever-increasing PG&E costs, it's no wonder the market has seemingly begun to shift. I don't know if it's going to stick, but if the current trends continue on for another month or two then we will start to see a significant reduction in listing price, which of course then drives sales price. We've already had 171 price reductions this year, while 2023 had 141 and 2022 had only 109 in the first five months of the year. An increase in price reductions is a direct result of a stagnat market that has begun to slide. But again, these are pretty fresh findings and the juice from the summer squeeze could easily revitalize Humboldt's market. Currently we're seeing your typical 3bd/2ba home on a city sized lot sit

on the market and endure one to two price reductions before selling. While higher end homes, properties with more acreage, or something recently remodeled are accepting offers and boarding the escrow train in a much quicker manner. If we fast forward to August, and I get a call for a listing appointment, I'm going to find some applicable comps that sold over the past several months (aka right now) and if were experiencing this same pattern, then guess what, the comps I find will have lower sales prices than listing prices. That will then direct me to suggest a lower listing price so that we can avoid the treacherous waters of over pricing, which can contribute to the potential flip from a sellers, to buyers market.

Want to buy, sell or invest? Call me today at (707) 616-8752!

• New listings dropped dramatically to 46 this week, down from last weeks 81

• Pending properties dropped five spots to 33 this week.

• 28 properties closed escrow this week, compared to 42 that closed last week.

4 Clark Street, Eureka CA | $369,000 | 3bd/1.5ba | 1150sf

If you find yourself dreaming of calling Humboldt County home look no further! By clicking the button below, you will be whisked away to my website where you'll have access to all of our local listings straight from Humboldt Counties Multiple Listing Services, aka the website real estate agents use to post their listings. As you can imagine, it is the most secure and accurate place to find detailed information on all of Humboldt Counties listings, so please tap below and get to searching! If you'd like, I can always create a property search for you, then as soon as a new listing hits the market that matches your desired criteria, it would automatically be sent straight to you!

April Market Report for Arcata

April Market Report for Eureka

April Market Report for McKinleyville

Current Interest Rates via Mortgage News Daily

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