Market Insights :: December 2024

*Please Note:  As part of my statistical analysis each month, I consider only single-family homes found within the four principal Counties which make up the Capital Region of New York State, primarily due to population density.  Further, I exclude new construction home sales from the analysis.

Market Insights  ::  December 2024

It appears that the Capital Region real estate market is experiencing the “early onset” of the seasonality of the real estate business, with the elements of “cause and effect”.  I’ll explain where, how and why…

The number of available homes listed “for sale” declined by 12% in November.  This decline may be explained by the early on-set of the seasonality of the real estate business.  It’s not uncommon for new listings to begin to experience a decline during the month of November.  That’s the cause.  Here is the effect:

Pending sales declined by 21% in November.  With fewer homes from which potential purchasers had to choose, combined with the volatility and fluctuation in mortgage interest rates experienced throughout November, caused some prospective purchasers to exhibit reluctance in November.   

The average number of days for a home seller to receive an acceptable purchase contract in November remained at 27 days.   

The number of home sellers who reduced the list price of their home in November declined by 25%.  This surprises me.  In the past, when pending sales experienced a decline, the number of home sellers seeking an acceptable purchase contract typically felt compelled to reduce the offering price of their home.  Let’s see what the real estate market delivers in this category during the month of December. 

Here is a real estate trivia question:  When is the “best” time of year to list a home for sale?  Answering this question from a purely statistical point of view, the concise answer is December and January.  The reasoning behind the answer is, there are fewer houses for sale during that period, therefore, less competition between sellers, the greater potential for a higher sale price.  There’s more to it.  Yet, that’s the sum and substance.

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I’ll post the 2024 "Year in Review" edition of Market Insights by Wednesday, January 15th, 2025.