We're two months into the COVID-19 pandemic now, and we have some important trends we'd like to share with anyone who's thinking of buying or selling in the Madison area. Buyers and sellers who understand these trends will be in a position to make smart decisions and make the most of this year's unique market. 

Dane County single family home trends for April and early May, 2020

Here are the latest trends in the single family home market, with fresh data from the months of April and May. 

Fewer owners are listing their home for sale. 

Single family home listings were in short supply before the pandemic began, and we expect this to be the trend for the foreseeable future. As you can see from the graph below, many home owners postponed their plans to sell in the month of April, as new MLS listings decreased by 37% from April of 2019. Lower listing activity will lead to fewer home sales and more competition between buyers in the months ahead.  

A closer look at this trend shows new listings started decreasing in late March. 

A lack of fresh supply is limiting the number of contracts written. 

New listings decreased by 37 percent in April, so it's no surprise accepted offers decreased by roughly the same amount - 35 percent. A lack of fresh supply is limiting the number of contracts written this spring. 

A closer look at this trend shows accepted offers started decreasing at the end of March. Note, however, the gap between 2019 and 2020 has narrowed in recent weeks.  As we wrote in this recent blog post, there are plenty of motivated buyers who are out searching for a home this spring. 

Buyers are gobbling up properties priced under $400,000.

This graph shows the number of new listings and the number of accepted offers by price point in April. Note buyers are especially active in the $200,000 to $300,000 price range. In the $200k to $300k price range, the number of accepted offers far exceeded the number of new listings in April. 

The market for homes priced under $350,000 is very competitive. 

Right now there are only 1.5 months of supply on the market. Forty-two percent of all listings are under contract (a high amount). A very high percentage of the listings priced under $350,000 are under contract with an accepted offer. Competition for these listings is especially fierce right now. 

Home sales were strong in April but will decrease in May. 

The number of homes sold in April increased by 6 percent year-over-year. Most of the closings in April came from offers written in February and March. We expect closings to decrease in May, due to fewer offers being written in April. 

Madison area home prices remain strong. 

Dane County home prices continued to increase in April. We expect strong home prices in May due to a scarcity of listings and the competitive nature of our low supply market. 

Days on market are at record lows.

The average days on market in April was only 32 days. We expect marketing times to be low in May, too, due to the heavy competition for a low supply of listings in the Madison area. 

Marketing times are especially low for listings priced under $350,000. 

Stay tuned for our Madison area buying and selling tips

We'll be updating our blog regularly with buyer tips, seller tips, and market updates throughout the year. In the meantime we know you're bound to have a lot of questions. So please reach out to us and share your 2020 real estate plans with us. We'll help you come up with a clear plan and start making progress toward all of your goals.