We are proud to present you with this synopsis of the national, regional, and localized trends that matter most to you, found here in our Wilmington 2023 Annual Report.
At the start of every year, we pore through sales charts, look back at our goals, and check the accuracy of our predictions for the past year. This knowledge helps us better prepare our agents as we launch into 2024. From an economic standpoint, there is no question that a year ago we weren’t expecting interest rates to rise as quickly as they did, coupled with drastic slowing of inventory in our local markets. Our incredible agents produced over $290 million in sales in 2023 and we closed 27 luxury properties—those that sold for over $900k.
With just 50 agents, we ranked in the top five real estate companies in the tri-county area. Needless to say, we are darn proud of our agents. Nest Realty Wilmington has been one of the most productive firms in the region for nine years running, and every year we continue to grow our wonderful family of clients.
MARKET OUTLOOK – NATIONAL LEVEL
Every year starts naturally with a focus on the near future, and 2024 brings with it a mixed bag of economic signals that may at times contradict one another and provide a somewhat murky view of our year ahead. At Nest we are committed to providing our clients with the best and most relevant information to help you make some of the most important financial decisions of your life. On a national level, we focus on three key economic indicators—interest rates, consumer confidence, and employment—to help us look forward to what we should expect. The fundamentals of our nation’s economy are solidly on the right path: inflation rates have stabilized, interest rates have retreated, low unemployment has continued as a bright spot, and real wages finally seem to be making headway in a positive direction. But while the data may look cheery, our nation faces some of the lowest consumer confidence in more than a decade, driven, we believe, from political frustrations at home and geo-political instability abroad. With real estate in mind, a quick conversation with your Nest advisor will help you understand some of the problems created by historically low inventory.
The year 2023 began much differently than it ended. During the first half of the year, we were seeing record-breaking inventory lows, coupled with low mortgage rates, and high buyer demand. In short, houses were selling quickly, often far over the asking price. By the end of 2023, we faced rising mortgage rates and a drastic cooling off, with more days-on-market. The fact that the market has cooled from the frantic highs of 2022 and early 2023 is not a surprise. But the speed of how quickly things shifted, is surprising. And while we’re not in the business of predictions, it is our hope that we’re heading toward a more balanced market where both buyers and sellers have the time to make well thought-out decisions. With that, let’s look through the 2023 data to gain a deeper understanding of where we’ve been and where we are now. In this report, we start off with an overall snapshot of the national market, then take a closer look at what’s happening in our local market. Understanding both the national and local trends can help us better interpret your home’s value and where the local market is potentially headed.
