Lancaster County home sales continue to out pace 2020

Though Lancaster County home sales fell very slightly in November from the previous year, their pace is still comfortably ahead of 2020.

“As 2021 winds down, the real estate market in Lancaster County continues to exceed our expectations,” said Tom Blefko, president of the Lancaster County Association of Realtors.

“Year to date, we are 500 sales ahead of last year, which is a 9.4% increase – and 2020 was a very good year!”

While closed sales dropped from 532 to 524 in November, the total through the first 11 months was 5,798, up from 5,298.

The data in the Lancaster County report is from Bright MLS, with the caveat that it may not reflect all activity in the geographic region.

“If there is one sore spot in the numbers, it is that inventory levels in housing stock are at historic lows,” Blefko added. “Although year to date we are ahead of last year’s number of new listings, buyers continue to gobble up homes as fast as they hit the market.”

“It will be interesting to see if the lifting of the foreclosure moratorium that the federal government imposed at the beginning of the pandemic will inject additional listings into the marketplace at the beginning of 2022, as some homeowners may still be having a difficult time making their payments.”

Average days on market was 15 in November, down from 24 a year ago. Of the houses that sold, 332 were listed no more than 10 days.

When it comes to financing, 321 buyers used conventional loans, 115 paid cash, 46 relied on a Federal Housing Administration mortgage, and 22 bought their home with a Veterans Affairs loan.

As before, the busiest sector was houses priced from $200,000 to $399,999.

And the average sold to original list price ratio was 101.7%, as competition for homes continues to drive buyers to offer above asking price.

Sold dollar volume in November nearly reached $156 million, an increase of close to $13 million from the year before.

The median sold price climbed to $269,950, up 10.2% from November 2020.

Year to date, the median sold price is $260,000, which is 11.6% more than last year at this time.

“More than likely, we will finish the year with double-digit appreciation rates, which will be a boon for homeowners’ equity positions,” said Blefko.

“As we approach the end of the year, the average homeowner in Lancaster County will see their home increase in value over $30,000, which is unprecedented.”