Since the topic of conversation with Franklin, MA and Boston area agents has recently centered on the lack of available housing inventory for prospective buyers, I decided to take an informal survey of the situation.

I individually asked ten Franklin Realtors how many buyers they had who would likely purchase a home priced between $250,000 and $450,000 on or before April 30th, 2010.  I chose April 30th since move-up or first time buyers looking to take advantage of the homebuyer tax credit must have a signed contract on a home by this date.  The agents did not know any explanation other than I was gathering information for a future blog post.  The data I collected cannot be viewed as statistically significant but rather just a small snapshot of the current Franklin, MA market conditions.

The respondents indicated the following:

  • Six agents expect five buyers will buy
  • One agent expects three buyers
  • One agent expects eight buyers
  • Two agents expects four buyers

This was very interesting to consider that potentially a total of 20 buyers –connected to ten different Realtors-- are expected to purchase a home during the next three months.  The harsh reality is that currently there are only 57 homes for sale in the entire town in every price range.  This group was only a fraction of the buyer agents who will likely have prospective buyers for Franklin homes over the next three months.  Most every full-time agent has distinct memories of the endless bidding wars during 2009 in which some buyers were not able to find a home as they attempted to meet the (then) November 30th, 2009 deadline.

Buyers need homes to purchase now.   Sellers, despite it still being a buyer’s market, can rest assured that the low inventory of homes means a likely higher selling price for their home.  The time it takes to sell a home may also be reduced as buyers feel the pressure to find the best home as soon as they can. Homes do need to properly appraise with the bank agreeing with the selling price but valuations may begin to rise.

It really is a good time to sell or buy a home! 

Please give me a call or email if you need more data or have questions about this information…