Santa Cruz County Market Update – October 2023
Below are the Santa Cruz County Market Statistics for September ’23. Here are the highlights:
– Active Inventory increased by 2.8% from August ’23 to September ‘23. Active Inventory is down 3.9% from September ’22.
– The median SFH sales price for September was $1.19M, down 1.3% from the month prior. September ’23 median home price is down 1.2% from September ’22.
– Number of Sales decreased by 15.1% from August ’23 and is down 18.9% from September ’22.
– Days on Market in September ’22 was 31. Days on Market in September ’23 was 37.
The transition to the Fall season marks the likely conclusion of peak sales activity in our real estate market. While Active Inventory increased slightly, the number of sales is down over 15% compared to last month. Homes are taking longer to sell, on average. We did see the market prices decrease below our 8-month support level of $1.2M. Market conditions are now comparable to Q1. That said, my recent Dax’s Data analysis on historical data indicates that we are on pace for a RECORD low of new inventory. This puts upward pressure on pricing and produces a strong counterbalance to decreased demand. September produced another 20-year mortgage rate high. This has further impacts on affordability. In the short term, this will decrease buyer demand. In the medium term, buyers will adjust expectations and begin to jump back into the market. In the long term, rates will subside and the result will be serious upward pressure on pricing.
