As we head into the year’s final months, LandVest’s available inventory of properties and sales have outpaced 2023 through Q3. Our brokers are reporting bullish sentiments for buyers and sellers alike as we look ahead into 2025. And while New England remains a seller’s market overall, home inventories are on the rise and some key $1M+ market segments have shifted to the benefit of buyers.
New England Still a Seller’s Market, But Some $1M+ Markets Tilting Towards Buyers
Looking at the market as a whole, including the $1M+ market, New England remains a seller’s market mirroring the situation nationally. While the New England market continues to be tighter than the national market, inventories have been rising creating more competition for sellers. As the number of available properties rises, sellers must be realistic about pricing to compete in a higher inventory environment.
A closer look reveals that New England is a tale of two markets right now. Massachusetts remains a seller’s market, both overall and among $1M+ properties. But the market for non-Massachusetts properties in the $1M+ range is leaning towards a buyer’s market in Maine, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island.
And in some locations, the inventory of $1M+ properties is already well into buyer’s market territory. Vermont and the Adirondacks are currently quite favorable for buyers and feature significant inventory of these higher value properties. Vermont leads the nation in year-over-year inventory growth at +61 percent providing ample opportunity for those looking to acquire signature properties in the Adirondacks and Green Mountains. Buyer activity remains strong, but with more options to consider and less imperative to act.
Broker Sentiment is Favorable for Buyer and Seller Activity
Our survey of broker sentiment takes the temperature of our experts and charts their monthly experiences in the market dating back to November, 2023.
For most of the last calendar year, our broker sentiment has become steadily more favorable for sellers. Currently, our brokers are nearly twice as likely to have reported a rise in seller activity than they did a year ago. Broker sentiment on buyer activity, though not as favorable as seller activity, has also improved over the past year as the market moves past an extended period of high rates. Our broker sentiment also reflects the seasonality of our markets and effects of NAR Settlement.
In fact, when asked to look ahead six to twelve months, our brokers report plenty of optimism on activity for both buyers and sellers—and that positive sentiment among our brokers has been growing over the past few months. This favorable trend is a hopeful indicator as we close out the year and head into 2025.
Source for Charts: LandVest Internal Data | October, 2024
