One of the defining characteristics of the post-pandemic Greater Boston real estate market has been low inventory. According to the 2024 Coldwell Banker Trends Report, there are some indicators that this may be changing. During Q4 of 2023, the amount of new inventory in the luxury market increased compared to the same point the year before:
Luxury single-family home sale prices nationwide also increased by 3.9%. So while the perception may have been that there was a shift from a seller's market to a buyer's, what the Luxury Institute of Home Marketing found in 2023 from analysis of 126 U.S. metropolitan markets was that 60% of them were still exhibiting signs of sales list-to-price ratios, which indicate a seller's market.
The obvious conclusion to draw would be that with the anticipation of rates coming down, that's been the biggest factor in the shift in the luxury market. But these trends began to emerge in October, before any rate decreases. With the change in the forecast for rates, Coldwell Banker believes that will only strengthen the luxury market.
