What Is a Seller’s Market? And Are We Still in a Seller’s Market?

What does it mean when we say that we are in a seller’s market? Also, are we still in a seller’s market right now?

Ryan Haley, broker and owner of Atlantic Shores Sotheby’s International Realty, explains this often-used term in the real estate market. 

In real estate, whenever we have less than six months of available inventory and/or supply, technically, that means that we are in a seller’s market. 

When we have six to seven months’ supply, many people view that as a neutral market, which means that it is neither for the buyer nor the seller’s advantage. Whenever we have more or greater than seven months’ available homes for sale, that would then be a buyer’s market. 

Are We in a Seller’s Market?

So, where do we stand today?

Since the beginning of the year, we’ve seen interest rates grow and increase rapidly. In fact, rates were up by about 1.5% since the beginning of the year. Some people are starting to feel that we may be coming into a shift in the marketplace. 

To give you a bit of perspective, in Ocean City, we currently have 90 properties for sale. While in the last 30 days, we sold 127 properties. That gives us just about 7/10 of one month’s supply. What does that mean? It means that we are in a very strong seller’s market. 

The seller’s market continues on even with rising interest rates. In fact, at this level and with this amount of inventory, we’re going to continue to see prices increase as we go on in 2022. 

Though we are in a strong seller’s market, there are definitely opportunities for a buyer who is aware and who is paying attention to the market. With that said, it is best to be connected to a great real estate agent who will give you some of the advantages to win when it comes to negotiation.