Third Quarter Equestrian Home
Market Update
While it remains a seller’s market and home prices continue to rise, the intensity of the housing market has cooled. New listings that would have yielded 15-20 showings in the spring are only seeing 5-10 showings in the current market. Instead of five or six offers, new listings are now more likely to generate one or two.
This market slowdown was the subject of a recent report from iBuying giant Opendoor, which indicated that almost 40% of potential homebuyers have put their housing search on hold. The most common reasons cited were persistent concerns about COVID-19 and feeling overwhelmed by the frenzied pace of the housing market. We expect many of these buyers will return to the market by early 2022, if not before, but the pace of the housing market will be more measured than it has been.
127 equestrian properties were sold in Pierce, King, Kitsap and Thurston counties in the third quarter of 2021 – a 13% increase in sales activity when compared to the third quarter of last year.
Horse properties have been selling very quickly – in less than 2-3 weeks on average.
Current Market Conditions
- Equestrian home prices in Pierce and King counties have started to flatten out, but year over year price gains were significant in Thurston and Kitsap counties during the third quarter.
- Some sellers have been overestimating what the market will bear when pricing their homes for sale, necessitating more price reductions than we’ve seen in the recent past.
- Based on a poll of 40 housing analysts, a recent Reuters report predicts a 5-6% increase in home prices nationwide in calendar 2022. Gains in hotter markets like the Puget Sound will likely be higher than that, but not nearly as high as the gains we’ve seen for the past few years.
- Even with historically low interest rates, horse properties in the Puget Sound area are increasingly unaffordable, particularly for first time home buyers.
Because of the unique considerations involved in buying or selling a horse property, relying on a Realtor with real world equestrian experience makes good sense. If you’re thinking about buying or selling a horse property in the Puget Sound area, please give me a call to discuss how I can put my knowledge and experience to work for you.
Jeff Williams has been riding and showing American Quarter Horses since childhood and is a top-producing Realtor with Windermere Chambers Bay, specializing in equestrian property sales in King, Pierce, Kitsap and Thurston counties.
Jeff Williams: (253) 303-1135
JeffWilliams@windermere.com
Contact Jeff Williams
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