April 2020 Luxury Market in Review

Ocean City and the world is currently undergoing an unprecedented time. The Eastern Shore is experiencing the effects on both human life and the economy as businesses are forced to temporarily close.

Typically, during the April review, I examine how the first quarter compares to the end of 2019. And indeed, the luxury market overall reported a strong start to the year. Throughout the beginning of the pandemic, properties were still being bought and sold at an increasing rate at the end of March, illustrating a normal growth to the start of the spring market.

According to Realtor.com’s Chief Economist Danielle Hale, who stated during her recent interview with RIS Media, “A low interest rate environment combined with flourishing economy and record-setting stock markets pushed luxury sales into the double digits for the first time as 2019 came to an end.”

While the beginning of the year showed normal growth, all indicators now show that the real estate market has started to slow down. Experts are predicting a 30-35% drop in inventory for April, compared to last year. However, currently there has been little signs of panic selling and property prices are remaining fairly steady.

“The demand to stay at home hasn’t stopped the sale of properties, rather it seems to have given homeowners and realtors the time and opportunity to reassess; resulting in a better understanding of how to adjust, learn, and then make the appropriate changes during this fluid situation” states Diane Hartley, president of The Institute for Luxury Home Marketing.

This ever-changing landscape further illustrates the need to focus on local expertise and increased technological capabilities. As a local expert, I am able to hone the market, focus on online sales and navigate the local rules and regulations.

Worcester County Luxury Market In Review

Single-Family Luxury Market

• The Worcester County single-family luxury market is a Buyer’s Market with a 7% sales ratio.
• Homes sold for a median of 97.10% of list price in March 2020
• The most active price band is $950,000-$1,049,999, where the sales ratio is 100%
• The median luxury sales price for single-family homes has decreased to $860,000
• The median days on market for March 2020 was 127 days, down from 420 in February 2020

Attached Home Luxury Market

• The Worcester County attached luxury market is a Buyer’s Market with a 6% sales ratio
• Homes sold for a median of 97.89% of list price in March 2020
• The most active price band is $850,000-$899,999, where the sales ratio is 20%
• The median luxury sales price for attached homes has decreased to $625,000
• The median days on the market for March 2020 was 80 days, up from 14 in February 2020

The full report can be found below. For more information about the April 2020 Luxury Market report and the services I can offer you and your luxury property, please give me a call at 410.430.1575 or email me at mnichols@LuxuryShoreLiving.com.