In the past 4 weeks, I had 6 homes under agreement totalling over 4 million, from the city to the surburbs, from condos, single family homes to apartment buildings. I was making offers every week, and almost every offer was up against multiple offers!
Boston has traditionally been a low inventory and high demand market regardless of the timing. Multiple offers for the same property is common both before and during Covid. That suggests there is a supply vs demand imbalance. I have people specifically telling me they are waiting until the fall to buy (save more money, waiting, etc), but even with these people holding back, the current market is still very hot. Especially since buyers with an essential need to buy a home in March/April weren’t able to do so during that time due to the lockdown.
I would say it’s pretty common for the Greater Boston and nearby suburbs, but the Covid situation actually makes it a bit easier for buyers by reducing the competition a bit.
Back in March, it was even harder due to much lower inventory at that time. Now we have more inventory due to less restricted lockdowns. Things started to pick up about 4 weeks ago. I was surprised by how quickly the market moved after the lock down relaxed. I was expecting the market to move slowly, so selling even more houses than last year around this time was surprising to me. In fact, my transaction volume in May was double the volume I did last year around this time.
But it makes sense, because there is a pent-up demand, and with the summer weather and not much else to do, buyers are coming out in higher numbers to look at houses! People who need to sell and move on to bigger spaces or downsize, they will do so. The world keeps moving. This is also reassuring news for new home owners.