Well, it’s an early St. Patrick’s Day morning as I write this. I’m afraid it’s going to take more than a little luck of the Irish for home buyers to secure a home this spring…
I heard the boat price for lobster here in Harpswell was over $14.00 per pound which sounds like a win for lobstermen, but when you consider the cost of fuel has doubled and bait almost tripled, plus I hear the cost of a single wire trap kit is now over $100 (unassembled), local fishermen are no further ahead than before.
We still don’t know how the events in Europe will affect the real estate industry. The increased energy costs are causing record inflation, not just here in Maine, but across the planet on just about everything. The feds raised the interest rate yesterday too. All this means the consumer has less buying power than ever before.
In 2020, we saw folks fleeing from the denser cities and suburbs to more rural areas and the secondary markets like Harpswell and other Maine coastal towns buzzed with activity, older inventory got sold and sellers were happy.
In 2021, the larger metro companies surrendered to the fact employees were not ready to return to the office and temporary remote work policies became permanent. Like the wind pushing the ocean, the second wave of COVID buyers had come ashore and it felt like Harpswell and other Maine towns were directly in the wave’s path. Homes were bought up as soon as they were posted on the MLS, even those hard to sell properties got gobbled up because they were the only choice for desperate buyers.
It’s 2022, it’s almost spring, Brokers all over the country are bracing for the 3rd wave this spring and buyers need to be ready, ready to move fast if they are fortunate enough to find their dream home, or any home that will satisfy their needs. This 3rd wave will be different from the others, buyers are more affluent and are now educated how to maneuver in this market.
In just the last several days, we’ve seen a few homes come to the market here in Harpswell that have gone under contract in just days for almost 2 times what they were bought for just 3-5 years ago. We’re seeing homes appreciate in value at unprecedented rates, rates that would have taken as much as 10 years, condensed into just months.
Right now, it is the perfect storm for sellers, home values have never been higher and no sign of receding (yet), waves of qualified buyers flowing over the border (for now) and record low inventory (for now). If you’d like to discover what all this means and how it affects your home’s value, we’d love to talk with you. Ron Hutchins (207)729-2134 ron@harpswellrealty.com