2020 Year End Statistics

All statistics courtesy of BrightMLS.

It is always interesting to take a look back at the previous year and see a larger picture overview of how different factors changed things. This last year is even more interesting, with so many factors coming into play. Did the accelerated market in the latter half of the year have enough effect to offset the quarantine period in the early second quarter, which is typically one of the most impactful times of the year in real estate? Did reduced mortgage rates mean more people stayed in place, or were there more sales than last year? Usually an election year also leads to a slight dip in activity, but with a year like this, can that even be seen with so many other variables atypically involved? Therefore, this is one of the more interesting end of year overviews to delve into. 

Instead of there being a downturn, it seems that the volume of sales actually was a bit above the trend of the last decade. Additionally, note that the volume of sales has doubled over the last 10 years, which is amazing. 

Sale price also was ahead of the trend in the last year. Let's see if that was the main factor in the volume increasing. 

It appears number of sales has been fairly steady over the last 4 years. Also of interest is that Chester County is 50% larger by size than New Castle, but they both are very similar in terms of number of sales.

Number of new listings is actually on a downward trend. With the lack of available properties, this is likely putting a significant cap on the number of sales that can actually transpire. It is also putting significant pressure on months of inventory, as the sales have stayed teh same with fewer new properties becoming available.

And with the lack of property availablility, that means that a house will sell much quicker as there is more demand for fewer homes. Again, notice just how much the market has changed over the last 10 years.​​​​​​​

So, while the quarantines in the beginning of 2020 put a damper on the real estate market, the ensuing whirlwind made up for it and the year ended very similar to previous years. It will be fascinating to see how the first few quarters of 2021 turn out, to see if things slow back to their normal patterns, or if the frenetic market pace continues.