2022 real estate market review

You may know me from my column for the Greene County Humane Society, where I serve as

President of the Board of Directors, but I am also a full-time real estate agent. I started the column for the humane society to provide education to the community. After being in real estate for a few months, I realized that I could also provide education to the community through a separate column, so I approached Patti at the Daily World and pitched the idea and, as always, she is great and agreed to let me give it a shot.

I decided that a good place to kick off would be with a review of the 2022 real estate market in Greene County. Unless you have lived under a rock for the past year, you know that there has been a lot of talk about the economy, inflation, supply chain issues and the real estate market.

I used the Indiana Regional MLS system to pull sales statistics for previous years and here is what I found. Please note that not all sales are reflected in this data, these are only sales reported through the IRMLS system used by the majority of realtors in our area.

We started the year with a competitive market that drove home sales up. Then, home sales slowed down with the rise in mortgage rates.

Overall, we saw 289 homes sell in 2022, which was slightly less than in 2021, when 321 homes were sold.

Year over year, we also saw the average and median home sales price fall just slightly. For

2021, the year ended with an average price of $185,517 and a median price of $166,000. To close out 2022, we saw an average price of $180,988 and a median price of $157,500. Part of this decrease can be attributed to rising interest rates.

An increase in the interest rate directly impacts consumer’s monthly mortgage payments, resulting in some consumers looking for lower prices to ensure that their payment is at an amount that they are comfortable with.

Looking at sales prices throughout the months, we can see the peak was around May-July. This was also the only point last year that we saw sales prices go higher than list prices on average.

Leading up to May, many homes were selling for just under list price.

From May to July, it peaked over and has been falling off ever since. In December, home sales prices were about 90% of their list prices.

Another market indicator that I like to monitor is days on market before being sold. This helps me to get an understanding of how quickly things are selling and how motivated buyers are. For 2021, the average days on market of sold properties was 45 days. For 2022, we actually saw that decrease to 39 days. This hit a peak in June and July with June sales only being on the market for an average of 24 days and July for an average of 15 days. It has steadily climbed since though, with December sales averaging 57 days on the market.

After reviewing the 2022 year end statistics, I have formed some opinions of my own. It is important to note that these are only my opinions of what the real estate market holds for 2023, because I cannot predict all of the future. I think we are in a time of moderate correction in prices, but also that inventory is still low so we won’t see any huge declines. I think it is still a good time for both buyers and sellers and that the bit of extended time on market will give buyers a little more opportunity to find what they are looking for.

My advice for sellers going into the year is that if you are wanting to sell, don’t wait. With the increased time on market, it would be better to get your home on the market earlier since it may take time to find a buyer. Houses can most definitely be listed and shown while you are still living in them, and you can ask for time after closing before turning over possession. This will give you time needed to find another place and move.

My advice for buyers is to not be afraid of the interest rates. While they have moved up to the 6-7% range, this is not historically high by any means. Looking historically from 1971 forward, we did not begin to see rates below 6-7% before the mid 2000s. A peak in rates was hit in the early 1980s with rates around 18%. I recommend my buyers focus more on what they can afford and what they really want out of their home and not worry as much about interest rates. Hopefully, they go back down in the future and they can refinance then but even if not, they will still have found a home that they are in love with.

I appreciate you taking the time to read my column. I hope over the coming weeks to continue to educate my readers on many different homebuying-related things and maybe bust some myths along the way. If you ever have questions for me, you can reach me at 812-798-0204 or you can email me at keganinman@gmail.com.

Kegan is a Real Estate Broker with Hunley Real Estate Inc. and can be reached at 812-798-0204, 812-847-7777 or by email at KeganInman@gmail.com