Karla Murtaugh answered some pressing Real Estate questions for Ridgefield’s Hamlet Hub. Here’s where she thinks the market is going.

Q: What is going on with the real estate market these days? Are we still in the surge, as crazy as it was?

A: The market is not as crazy as it has been – it’s more fluid and balanced. I feel we’re on our way to a more normal market. We’re hearing a lot of comparisons to 2019 right now, particularly the second half of 2019 since we were starting to see a definite uptick in the market at that point. The lack of inventory is still driving this market and allowing prices to remain steady. Supply and demand is in full force.

Q: Is it still a good time to list my house?

A: Absolutely. There are plenty of buyers still in the market. Buyers fall into two camps – they are either new to the market now that it’s a little calmer, or took a break because they were exhausted by the frenzy of the past two plus years, but have decided to reenter again. You can feel confident entering the market right now, no matter whether you’re a buyer or a seller.

Q: Is it a good time to buy?

A: Definitely. At Karla Murtaugh Homes we are working with a number of buyers across all price points and there’s just not enough inventory to service them all. We are still seeing multiple offers, but generally they are coming in on properties that are as turnkey as possible and priced properly.

Q: What is one of the misconceptions you’re hearing a lot?

A: We always have to remind ourselves that real estate is hyper local. The national sound bites and headlines do not apply in Ridgefield right now. A lot of the numbers that are floating out there in headlines are comparing us to 2020 and 2021. The big, big difference is that there was so much more inventory to sell then, and a lot of the headlines aren’t giving any explanation or context.

Q: What about interest rates?

A: Though they have hedged up, they’re still not unreasonable especially when you look back and compare to where they’ve been throughout history. Most lenders are now suggesting a shorter-term variable rate. I don’t believe they’ll go back to below 4%, which is fine because that’s unsustainable, but hopefully the economic indicators will continue to show they will drop again soon.

Check out our 2022 Year End Real Estate Market Report here.