With the leaves falling from the trees and the year winding to a close, the newly reinvigorated housing market may be pausing for a breath in most of the country – but Massachusetts still seems to be pumping away.

Across the country, sales of existing homes slipped 1.9 percent last month, according to new stats released by the National Association of Realtors. But the Bay State just experienced the best September since 2005, according to data compiled by The Warren Group, with single-family sales rising 16.6 percent. And though buyer demand seems to be fading in other markets, agents here say they’re still experiencing plenty of multiple bids, as low inventory continues to plague the Massachusetts market.

“It is still crazy. Every time we turn around we’re in a multiple offer situation. Recently I had one of mine go $20,000 over asking before the open house even started. [My buyer] actually countered that with another $5,000, which they accepted,” said Joe Schutt, broker/owner of Unit Realty Group in Boston. “I have a client looking out in Lincoln, and I recently went through a multiple-offer situation out there where they went $40,000 over asking and still didn’t get it.”

Schutt is far from alone. According to web-centric brokerage Redfin, which operates in several dozen of the country’s largest metropolitan areas, the Boston metropolitan area was the fourth-most competitive in the country last month, with more than 70 percent of offers facing competition – up from 62.4 percent in August. Across 22 large metros surveyed by Redfin, competition dropped 2.2 percent during the same period.

“We always have a competitive fall market, and this year is not any different. There’s still a general lack of inventory, and that’s keeping things moving quickly. We’re still seeing new supply coming on the market, but I don’t think it’s quite where anybody wants it to be,” said Alex Coon, Boston area manager for Redfin. 

‘Breakneck’ Growth

Coon points to a mix of factors that set Boston apart. “The breakneck growth of the tech industry in the past two or three years seems to be compounding [home sales] in some of these areas. There are a lot of people moving here and looking for property and willing to pay for it. The strength of our relative economy is still better than most … and the weather’s been fantastic to boot.”

It’s not just the urban core that’s staying busy. “I think some buyers are starting to move off the fence as the interest rates are starting to climb up a little bit,” said Nelson Matos, an agent with RE/MAX Welcome Home in Taunton. “I’m still experiencing multiple offer situations. Not on every listing, but we’re definitely still getting them. Just last week I had a property on the market and there were five offers – my buyer had to come up with $10,000 over asking together. There’s a shortage of inventory for newer or remodeled homes that are priced well.” 

While the market isn’t quite as mad as this past spring, there’s still enough competition out there that brokers are advising clients to be on their toes.

“The amount of bids we’re seeing in multiples has come down. But in places like Cambridge, Somerville, Arlington, Belmont, that sort of urban-suburban core, I’d say the offers are still very competitive. I’d say we’re seeing three to six offers on any given property, where we may have been seeing six to fifteen in the spring. But you’re still going up against a bunch of other people and you have to have your ducks in a row” in order to succeed, said Coon. “Any serious buyer needs to be serious, and ready to move.”

With the recent shenanigans in Washington imperiling the economy, and the prospect of further interest rate hikes on the horizon, most agents are crossing their fingers that the strong market will continue through the end of the year. But for now, many are quietly celebrating the best market they’ve seen in nearly a decade.

“I’m sure it will cool off a little bit, but we’re still been reasonably busy. It’s been the best year for our office ever – and we’ve been around since 2005,” said Matos. 

Email: csullivan@thewarrengroup.com