Accepted offers and home sales were lower compared to last year, but September was still a very active month for the Madison area real estate market. Remember, the normal seasonality of our market was disrupted by the pandemic in 2020, which makes year-over-year comparisons tricky. With this update we'll help you make sense of our fall market while giving you plenty of historical perspective.
Dane County single family home accepted offers
Accepted offers decreased by 12 percent from a year ago, but don't let that fool you. Buyers have been very busy this fall. A total of 521 homes went under contract in September. Excluding September of 2020, last month was the most active September on record. The next highest September on record was September of 2017, which had 466 accepted offers.
Dane County home sales
Madison area home sales decreased by 16% year-over-over but came in at the second highest total on record for the month of September. A total of 584 sales were recorded last month. The next highest total was in September of 2016, when 526 sales were recorded.
Competing offers
Competing offers continued to trend along historic highs in August, with 41% of all single family home listings receiving multiple offers. Last August the percentage was 36%, while the percentage in August of 2019 was only 20%.
New MLS listings
A low supply of fresh listings is one of the reasons why competing offers are so much more common in 2021. Only 535 single family home listings hit the market in September. Going back to the year 2000, only 6 other Septembers had fewer homes going up for sale.
Single family home months of supply
As of October 8th there is only one month of single family home supply in Dane County. Only 587 homes are available for sale right now, but we expect this number to decrease dramatically when more buyers flood the market early next year. This is one of the reasons why we're encouraging our clients to buy their home this fall or winter rather than delay their plans until next spring.
Days on market
The average days on market in September was only 14 days. Marketing times have been trending along record lows throughout all of 2021.
Madison area home prices
Dane County home prices continued to trend along record highs in September. The price per square foot was $191 last month, which was 13% higher than a year ago. Year-to-date home prices are up by 12%.
What to expect for the rest of 2021
We expect a more balanced market for the remainder of the year. Competing offers and bidding wars will occur less frequently than they did last spring, but prices will remain elevated. With a more balanced market at play, effective negotiation and a firm grasp of market conditions will become much more important to buyers and sellers in the months ahead. Selecting a price, negotiating contingencies, and drafting offers and counter offers will require more thought, strategy, and nuance.
Do you have questions about buying or selling in the months ahead?
Please reach out to one of our full-time professionals. We're always available to talk real estate and share our perspectives and advice.
