Barnstable County finished 2023 with only 400 homes for sale, driving continual affordability challenges. iStock photo

2023 was an eventful year for real estate, and 2024 is off to quite the start itself. As a brokerage leader, my job is to not only monitor the market for trends that will impact inventory and sales dynamics, but also to scan the business side of the industry to keep my agents ahead of the curve so they can deliver great service to their clients.

In the Cape Cod market, and across Massachusetts, inventory and interest rates are likely to continue to be the biggest challenges encountered by both buyers and sellers in 2024. Rates in the 6 percent to 7 percent range, combined with severely limited inventory in many cities and towns, are the chief drivers of affordability concerns on the buyers’ side. This is compounded by the fact that many homeowners with interest rates in the 3 percent or lower range are understandably reluctant to sell and pay a premium for a new home, even if their current one no longer fits their needs.

You can see this trend play out in stark fashion in Barnstable County, where we finished 2023 with only 400 single family homes for sale. For reference, our historical average has been around 2,000 homes for sale at any given time, and we were sounding the inventory alarm during the COVID-19 market when there were around 1,000 homes on the market.

Simply put, there need to be more homes on the market to make a real impact on affordability. Absent any major change, if we do see lower interest rates at some point this year it will help on both fronts, even if only modestly.

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Several bills under consideration at the State House would go a long way towards giving cities and towns the tools they need to encourage more housing production, though we are still a long way off from knowing what those final bills will look like. While they may not have much of an impact on 2024, they may pay dividends down the road on housing affordability.

The National Association of Realtors’ Chief Economist Lawrence Yun and others have pointed to the 5 percent interest rate range as the target where they believe we may start to see some market movement. If we can get rates down into that range, we may start to see some inventory free up.

On the agent side, I anticipate a doubling down on customer service and professionalism in 2024 as Realtors strive to provide even more value to their clients. Despite recent bad press about the industry, these are hardworking professionals with a deep wealth of knowledge about their communities. A knowledgeable Realtor can be an invaluable resource and guide for someone pursuing homeownership or planning a move.

Emily Clark

We are also on the cutting edge of a new generation of artificial intelligence-enabled tools that will enhance interactions with home buyers and sellers, making Realtors more efficient in providing top-level customer service – a development I am excited to implement.

As our industry faces increasing questions about the role of Realtors for buyers and sellers, I believe professionals will intensify customer interactions and make a greater effort to demonstrate the genuine value of their work. There is much more to a transaction than moving from house hunting to the closing table or signing a listing agreement to handing over keys to a new homeowner. I have witnessed tears shed at the closing table as one family passes on cherished memories to another, and every day I see Realtors who pour their hearts and souls into their work and the lives of those around them. In 2024, I hope to see a market that allows this reality for more buyers and sellers.

Emily Clark is the 2024 president of the Cape Cod & Islands Association of Realtors and president of BHHS Robert Paul Properties