We’ve been fortunate this month in that we’ve stayed busy essentially from the beginning of the year, when most of our local agent community has been slow. As such, I figure better late than never on the June Newsletter! We’ve been able to string together a healthy number of sales so far this season (and we’re grateful for your support in doing so), mostly in prime Carmel, which is a testament to the popular Carmel cottage product we sell so much of, and it’s desirability- not to mention the velocity of sales there, which virtually always outpace the other areas of the Monterey Peninsula.

Since the last newsletter, we were able to help some buyer clients get into a property on Monte Verde & 12th, Carmel-by-the-Sea, to close quickly and facilitate a 1031 exchange for our seller client who was exchanging into 3 new income properties in Arizona; we assisted some clients in selling their home on Carpenter and 3rd, Carmel-by-the-Sea, so that they could exchange into another client’s off-market home in a location that better suited them on Santa Fe street, again in Carmel-by-the-Sea(!); and lastly we are moving a property on Whaler’s Way towards market this coming Friday- Whalers Way is in the Country Club West area of Pebble Beach, and right around the corner from Monterey Peninsula Country Club. Some photos and video are included down below of some of these sales and coming availabilities.

Some local market numbers- Carmel has shown some pick up, with 20 sales in May versus 18 in April (we’ve been seeing some more momentum since about February/March). However, number of sales is down 46% YTD at 95 compared to this time last year. Active listings are up as sales drop, at 108 active versus 97 in May 2022. List Price to Sales Price ratio is at 93.6%, and supply inventory is at 5.8 months, which is becoming a more even balance for buyers and sellers. Days on Market is at 57 days YTD, which is a sizeable increase of 30% compared to 2022.

What’s happening on the ground? Well last week, the Fed signaled that they were pausing interest rate hikes, with two more hikes likely down the road, albeit today Chairman Powell doubled down on the Fed’s narrow interest in curbing inflation and their intent to do more rate hikes. Meanwhile, May saw the lowest number of homes for sale in a decade, falling 7.4% year over year, to 1.4M units. This is likely a direct result of the massive number of would-be sellers holding onto sub-5% mortgages, often with plenty of equity. This is creating a backlog of demand and helping to prop up values in light of the economic cycle we’ve been experiencing since the first half of 2022. On the ground here in Carmel, we are seeing more and more buyers reenter the market to take advantage of some of the better pricing that’s begun to result from (some) sellers becoming more realistic, with more aggressive pricing on the seller side, or truly “cherry” properties, becoming the hallmark of most deals that make it to the closing table.

As always, please reach out if we can be of any assistance to you or loved ones.

Cheers,
Ryan