After a bitter bite over the weekend, the Blizzard of 2013 was followed by an even quicker thaw — a phenomenon not unfamiliar to the denizens of a certain local real estate market.
“The early spring market is definitely here. We are having multiple offers left and right. I have a handful of listings that have sold in just a day or two already this year…the good ones are literally flying off the shelf," said Judy Moore, an agent with The Higgins Group Realtors in Lexington.
It’s early days yet to get a sense of sales, as it may take weeks for offers being submitted now to turn into closed sales on the registrar’s books. But early signs are positive: The Massachusetts Association of Realtors reports that pending sales are up 18.4 percent in January compared to the same time last year.
And some lucky agents are reporting activity that’s a fair bit more than just “positive.” Laurie Cadigan, co-broker/owner of Barrett & Co. in Concord, said she’d just put three listings on the market in the course of a week — all of which received offers in less than 24 hours. Suzanne Koller of Keller Williams Boston Northwest, said she was experiencing a “feeding frenzy” with one of her listings receiving eight offers and another going under agreement in less than a day.
The signs are also there for continued strength over the coming weeks, with mortgage brokers reporting a significant bump in potential buyers seeking pre-qualification before heading into the market.
“I’ve done more pre-approvals in the past two weeks than I’ve done in probably the last three months,” said Brian Cavanaugh, a senior mortgage banker with Residential Mortgage Services Inc. in Boston.
Kimberly Moccia, a mortgage planning specialist with Radius Financial Group in Norwell, said she’s also seeing a surge in pre-qualification applications. “Rates have ticked up some and that sometimes makes people decide, where they may have been undecided, to buy," she said.
Perhaps more importantly, agents are spotting the return of a rare bird in the Boston market — the move-up buyer. The low rates and rising rents of the last several years have spurred an explosion of interest from first time buyers throughout 2012. But many eager purchasers wound up frustrated due to the paucity of inventory, with a substantial proportion of current homeowners underwater, or nearly so, and therefore reluctant to put their own homes on the market.
That appears to be shifting, as last year’s price gains are finally shaking loose a few new entrants into the market. The end of 2012 saw 46,887 single family sales in the Bay State, the best year for sales since 2006 and an 18 percent increase over the prior year, according to data provided by The Warren Group, publisher of Banker & Tradesman. Prices also seemed to reverse their slide, with median prices up 1.9 percent for the year and 12 percent in December, breaking the $300,000 mark for that month.
January was "very encouraging,” said Pam Cote of Pam Cote & Associates in Beverly. She’s been seeing buyer interest in a variety of price bands. “Not just first-time buyers," she said.
"I am seeing an increase in activity on the residential side, [among] first-time buyers and buyers looking to upgrade,” said Frank Bertolino, an agent with Keller Williams in Newburyport.
Every good New Englander knows not to count on clear skies — or clear sidewalks — until May, and it’s still possible that the recent spate of bad weather could impact February sales. But as Angela Harkins, principal of Angela Harkins & Associates Real Estate in Westford put it, so far it’s a “resounding yes on early spring market.”
Email: csullivan@thewarrengroup.com
