Selling On Cape Cod

While most are firing up the grills for the season and prepping for an exciting summer, those in the know are making their move. For real estate professionals and savvy locals, this time of year is one of the most strategic times to buy or sell on the Cape.

At this time in March there was snow on the ground, winter storm damage everywhere, and an historic chill in the real estate market. At time of writing we're enjoying our second day in a row of 70+ degree weather, and the daffodils are in full bloom (though there's still a lot a storm damage in this intrepid blogger's yard). But most importantly, the real estate market is showing signs of life along with the flowers.

Snow wasn’t the only thing falling last month. According to market data released this week by the Association of Realtors, the Cape logged our lowest-EVER number of new listings for the month of February. Not only that, but new listings dipped between January and February for the first time since 2015 (which was also a brutal winter). Literally every metric we track was down for last month.

It’s all about the punctuation. In 2023 this column concluded with exclamation points: In 2024 it concluded with question marks: Now in 2025 we’re ending with a period: In 2025 the Cape Real Estate market showed continued consolidation of 2024 trends. Inventory remains low (530 active units at time of writing), but days on market has climbed to its highest monthly average (46 days) since prior to COVID. Similarly, percentage of sale price received by sellers has returned to

Cape Cod Real Estate Market Update: Fall 2025 The big question we're getting from both buyers and sellers alike is "have prices started to fall yet?" And the answer is...maybe. The median sale price six-month-average dipped from a high of $739,000 in November of last year to a low of $710,500 in May (see the accompanying chart). However, it popped back up to $730,000 this month, almost back to last year's record high. In that same time, the number of homes for sale has r

Cape Cod Real Estate Market Update: November & December 2024 The Cape Cod real estate market wrapped up 2024 with some notable trends in November and December. As we close the year, let’s take a closer look at what happened and what it could mean for buyers and sellers moving forward. Inventory: Seasonal Decline, But the Market is Still Active As expected, inventory dipped during the late fall months, with many sellers holding off until the new year to list their homes. At th

September and October Review: The Cape Cod real estate market was in the thick of the usual fall "boom" with new listings and homes for sale both still elevated from the summer. What does this mean? Let's take a look. Inventory continues to build. Overall inventory of single family homes is the highest it's been since November 2020. Much of this gain is still above the median sale price. At the end of October, there were 236 homes for sale less than $825k; 521 were for sa

Summer Review: July and August continued many recent trends in Cape Cod real estate. With the start of the fall market and some relevant economic trends at hand, let's take a look. Inventory is building in certain price ranges... Overall inventory of single family homes is at it's highest since November 2020. However most of this buildup is occurring in the above median price range. Specifically, by the end of August there were 604 homes for sale for $740k (median) or m

June Review: "Stability" is far too strong a word to use, but long-term real estate trends in many metrics demonstrate that we are past inflection points in the market. In plain terms, Cape Cod is digging out of the real estate market impacts from COVID, but the new reality looks different. Let's do some digging of our own. Inventory continues to build... Take a look at the graph of homes for sale. June ended with 692, which is the best June since COVID. More importantly

May Review: The May Cape Cod real estate market demonstrated what felt like a more normal market. Let's take a closer look at the data. Inventory is the highest since pre-COVID. Don't misunderstand me, inventory is not "high", but it's gaining ground with about 650 homes for sale. For comparison we had about 460 homes on the market in May of 2022. That's a 40% increase and good news for a more normal and stable real estate market on Cape Cod. Condos as harbingers. The con

Spring Review: The beginning of the 2024 Cape Cod real estate market is showing some interesting trends. Let's take a closer look at the data through April. Median Sales Price remains high. April had the second highest median sales price ever, bested only by October in 2023. Despite some bumps, the overall trend over the last 3 years is clear, median sales prices are higher than ever and trending higher. This is tough news on buyers as high sales prices and high mortgage r

Another year is in the rear-view mirror. 2023 silenced a major part of the pandemic concerns while reopening doors. Properties bought during the pandemic are resurfacing as vacation rentals or are being resold when they are no longer needed. This is contributing as it always has to a fifth of the national GDP (gross domestic product) that is driven by the real estate industry of which we are proud to be a part. We at Chatelain Real Estate look to continued relationships with

January Review: The Cape Cod real estate market began 2024 with some improvements over last year, but will they be enough to correct the deplorable dearth of inventory and the horrendously high prices? Let's take a closer look. Inventory remains low, but may be improving. We are hopeful that year-over-year inventory is showing a gain for the first time in a while. This trend of losing inventory compared to the previous year had essentially been continuous since May of 2023.

December Review: The December Cape Cod real estate market was quiet, much as expected, with low inventory, few closings, and continued high prices. Inventory remains low. The number of single family homes for sale in December was 400, down 11% compared to 2022. It would not be a surprise if inventory remains low because new listings were also down 30%. Months Supply isn't showing the whole picture, a full breakdown. One metric we bring up occasionally is "Months Supply" of i

November Review: The Cape Cod real estate market began the winter slowdown in November indicated by fewer closings and new listings. Despite slightly more favorable mortgage rates, low inventory and near-record home prices continue to make buying a challenge. Percent of Original Price is moderating. After years of over asking price offers and market peaks around 105% (meaning houses sell for 5% over their asking price), this metric has been stabilizing around 96-98%. Histo

October Review: Good news today for buyers with mortgage rates dropping significantly; however, with median prices continuing to rise and inventory continuing to decrease, the Cape Cod real estate market still significantly favors sellers. Median sales price hit another record. Median sales price was $811,000 for a single family home in October. With that number, single family homes have nearly doubled in price in the past four years, since the start of the pandemic. For com

September Review: The Cape Cod real estate market continues to be driven by rising prices, low inventory, and the highest mortgage rates in more than 20 years. Median sales price hit a new record completely outpacing affordability. Median sales price was $795,000 for a single family home in September. Prices this high continue to strain affordability, which was reported at 34. This means median household income in Barnstable County is 34% of what is needed to afford a median

June-Aug Review: The summer real estate market on Cape Cod showed some change though nothing yet resembling consistent or predictable. Median sales price remains high... though there was some fluctuation in this number. After the peak in April, we saw a drop off in median price in May, a climb back up to the summer's peak in July, then prices cooling off a bit in August. In fact, August 2023 had the same median sales price as August 2022. Expect the unexpected as a buye

April Review: Real Estate trends on the Cape largely held steady in April with increases in median price, days on market, and inventory, while decreases continued in closed sales, pending sales, new listings, and percent of original price received. The increasing median sales price trend is bucking the national trend which has seen prices fall the past two months. Median sales price continues to climb...still. April's median single family home sold for $760,000. This is

March Review: According to the National Association of Realtors, sales are increasing across the country as the spring market heats up. However limited inventory continues to be a significant factor in the market. Is the Cape any different? Let's take a look. Median sales price continues to climb. March saw single family home sales prices increase 6% month-over-month and 8% year-over-year. While this isn't the highest we have seen (which was May 2022), it is the highest si