Market Survey: Sellers Will Continue Adding New Listings in Mid-Atlantic

Life Happens, Listings Happen

Mid-Atlantic market statistics continue to show gains in new listings and active listings in 2024. According to the latest Bright MLS subscriber survey, more than three in five (63.7%) of May 2024 sellers sold a primary residence. Some potential sellers may be held back by mortgage rate lock-in and still-restricted inventory. Nonetheless, individuals and households have clear reasons why they want to list their home.
 

 

About a quarter of those selling a primary residence listed family reasons as the motivation to move. This could include marriage, divorce, having children, moving closer to relatives, and more. This driver has consistently been the top reason for non-discretionary moves.

Sellers are also listing second/vacation homes, rentals, investment properties, and flips. In our survey, agents and brokers working directly with sellers reported slightly over 18% of these listings in May. Another life event also comes into play—in May, 14.7% of sellers listed a home due to the passing of an individual.

Sellers Still Happy About Listing

Whether the seller had to list their home or decided now was the time to do it, the majority (85.8%) are pleased with the price they receive. Multiple offers continue to be the market norm despite a weaker demand pool.

There is more give than take today than during the buying frenzy in 2021 and 2022. Over a third (34.0%) of agents and brokers had one of their sellers offer credit for repairs or items uncovered during inspection. Additionally, one in five offered closing cost assistance. Sellers are adjusting back to the mentality that negotiation is an essential part of the transaction.

Sellers Will List, Yet Buyers Are Drying Out

The outlook for sellers has been relatively steady despite seasonal changes on the way. To gauge the outlook, we look to the seller index, which compares agents and brokers who anticipate high to very high activity in the coming three months against those who expect low to very low activity. In June 2024, the seller index was 34.7, compared to 33.8 in May and 35.4 in April. Last year, seller expectations were more reserved, with an index reading of 24.0.
 

 

Buyer outlook has declined compared to last month and last year. June’s reading of 56.3 is more than six points below May 2024 and June 2023. The steepness of buyer outlook decline in 2024 has been more pronounced than the sentiment movement last year, likely reflecting elevated mortgage rates and rising home prices.

Small Shifts Are Occurring as Inventory Expands

More seller activity through new listings has improved options for buyers. Although some hints of change can be noted, any easing looks to be gradual. Last summer, the average number of offers a buyer needed to purchase reached a peak of 3.4 for transactions in June 2023 and was 3.2 in May 2023. The average number of offers in May 2024 was 2.7, pointing to less competition as some buyers move to the sidelines.

Submitting a successful offer remains the second biggest challenge, after finding the right home. Yet even the sentiment toward this part of the process has moved in a favorable direction. In our latest survey, about 26% described submitting a successful offer as somewhat or very difficult. In comparison, roughly 35% of those who purchased in June 2023 felt the same way.

Overall, the Mid-Atlantic housing market remains tight. Days on market has eased in some areas while others are seeing homes move off the market just as quickly as last year. As new listings continue to outpace contract activity, selection should improve and buyers should have an easier time finding and purchasing a home.

About Bright

Bright is proud to be the source of truth for comprehensive real estate data in the Mid-Atlantic, with market intelligence currently covering six states (Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia) and the District of Columbia. Bright MLS’s innovative tool library—both created and curated—provides services and award-winning support to well over 100k real estate professionals, enabling their delivery on the promise of home to over half a million homebuyers and sellers monthly. In 2023, Bright subscribers facilitated $104B in real estate transactions through the company’s platform.

A total of 463 agents representing recent homebuyers and 606 agents representing recent home sellers responded to Bright MLS’s survey. The survey was conducted between June 6 and June 13, 2024. Full survey results are available here. More research and analysis on the housing market is available from Bright MLS’s Research Team.