Nation-wide demand for second homes rebounded in September at the same time as Cape Cod real estate observers say buyer demand stayed strong last month as the Delta variant gave remote workers a reprieve from changes to companies’ work-from-home policies.

Remote workers relocating from Boston and New York City have emerged as a potent force in the Cape real estate market, particularly in more traditionally middle-class neighborhoods that have not historically been oriented towards vacationers. However, it was

A new Redfin report on mortgage-rate lock data from analytics firm Optimal Blue says the summer slowdown in demand for second homes definitively reversed, rising to 60 percent above pre-pandemic demand levels. Demand bottomed out in July at 40 percent above pre-pandemic demand.

Part of the slump – and resulting surge – could have been due to restrictions Fannie Mae put in March on the number of second-home mortgages it would buy, reducing their overall availability in the market. Federal housing regulators removed the restrictions in the middle of September in an effort to boost housing supply

“The market may have overreacted to the Fannie Mae rule a bit, which would explain why we’ve been seeing demand for second homes bounce back,” Redfin Deputy Chief Economist Taylor Marr said in a statement. “Mortgage rates are on the rise as well, which is likely creating a renewed sense of urgency for vacation-home buyers who want to purchase properties before rates climb even further.”

The removal of restrictions will likely help keep second-home demand elevated “for the foreseeable future,” Redfin said.

That would seem to still be the case on Cape Cod, according to the area’s Realtor association. While September’s pending-sales tallies were down 30.4 percent for single-family homes and 15.6 percent for condominiums compared to September 2020’s record highs, they were still 12.53 percent and 34.04 percent up from September 2019’s tallies despite scarce inventory. Only 550 single-family homes were available for sale on the Cape last month, 43.1 percent fewer than a year ago. The Cape also only had 147 condos for sale, 52.3 percent down from September 2020.

“Sellers are still getting more money for their homes then they ever thought of in 2019 or before – and there is still more demand as remote workers, second home owners and future retirees are trying to find their place on the Cape,” Ryan Castle, chief executive officer of the Cape Cod & Islands Association of Realtors, said in a statement.

New listings in September for single-family homes were 457 and 126 for condominiums. This is a 22.1 percent decrease, and a 19.7 percent decrease respectively from last September, which had 587 new listings for single-family homes and 147 new listings for condominiums. While new listings are still well off the pace needed for a balanced real estate market, the gap between new listings from September 2019 and September, 2021 is beginning to show signs of closing.

Cumulative days on market for September decreased 76.3 percent for single-family homes compared to last September, dropping from 97 days to 23 days. Condominiums had a 77.8 percent decrease in cumulative days on market compared to last September, dropping from 90 days to 20 days.