Hartford County wrapped up 2021 with 586 single-family contracts in December. The total was about 9% behind December 2020, and the County finished the year about 5% behind the full year 2020 contract total. Despite the decrease in deals it was a very strong year for the real estate market.
The inventory of available homes was the story throughout 2021. As of year-end the number of listings dropped to their lowest level yet, breaking through the 600 home floor that had held during the early months of the year. There were only 543 active listings when we pulled the data on the morning January 5th.
Comparing the number of listings to the pace of deals in 2021, the County sat at 0.6 months of inventory. So if buyers maintained their average activity level of the past 12 months, then all of the available homes would be sold in a little over half of a month. This also represents a new low for the inventory metric.
The bottom line is that sellers are very likely to have the advantage in the initial months of 2022. It is unclear where new listings will come from, and how inventory numbers will grow. Buyers need to be prepared to compete for opportunities since they will face competition. They will need to stretch on price, and also optimize their non-price offer terms to ensure they are competitive.
Have a wonderful 2022, and reach out at any time with your real estate questions.
