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With inventory still in short supply in the Harrisburg-area housing market, median sold prices in February jumped by double digits from the year before.
Prices were up 16.7% – to $270,800 – in Cumberland County; 14.9% – to $193,550 – in Dauphin County; and 22.6% – to $189,900 – in Perry County.
A little bit more inventory is arriving, but it’s not lasting long, said Sylvia Hess, 2022 president of the Greater Harrisburg Association of Realtors.
What the market is experiencing isn’t a new listings issue but an active listings issue, she explained.
In the current environment, agents might wait just a few days before lowering a list price if offers aren’t forthcoming, Hess said, where before that would have taken weeks.
In some areas, pickings are very slim in certain price ranges. For example, as of March 16, there were just four single-family detached homes listed under $400,000 in Cumberland Valley School District, she said.
“There’s still a lot of buyer frustration,” Hess said, and now interest rates are creeping up as well.
As has been the case for a while, some purchasers are willing to forgo home inspections and other contingencies in order to get their offers accepted.
Real estate agents wouldn’t counsel buyers to take that risk but that’s the reality of today’s market, Hess said.
Ease of transaction is what sellers are looking for, she said, including purchases that can be made in cash rather than with a mortgage.
Here is more data from the February report:
- In Cumberland County, closed sales were 196, the same number as a year ago. The average sold to original list price ratio was 100.5%, or just above asking price.
- Closed sales in Dauphin County were 233, down from 236 in February 2021. The average sold to OLP ratio was 98.2%.
- In Perry County, closed sales totaled 20, one fewer than the year before, and the average sold to OLP ratio was 94.7%.