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%. Historically these numbers are even lower in the Cape Cod market, more like 92-95% so there could be more room for this metric to fall even farther. Inventory remains low. It's not the lowest it's been, but it's close. The lowest we have seen was the winter of 2022 when inventory of single family homes was at 280 in February. 535 homes seems like a glut by comparison, but the summer of 2006 had about 5000 homes for sale and 2019 peaked just above 2000 (and we were feeling a lack of inventory even then). Mortgage rates continue to be a challenge for some buyers. At the time of writing, mortgage rates are hovering around 6.5% and we'll continue to keep an eye on this. With low inventory, high prices and high mortgage rates, many buyers will likely wait until the Spring before becoming active again.
