The temperatures are cooling, but the Boston real estate market is not! This month, Nick talks about how buyers can best navigate the market if they want to purchase before the end of 2021. He also gives some strategies sellers can utilize to get top dollar during this competitive time.

For buyers looking to make a move before the end of the year, what pieces of advice do you have for them?

For those looking to purchase before the end of the year, whether for personal or financial reasons, one of the biggest things you should plan for is the amount of time it takes to close in real estate.

Typically, you can expect the actual closing to happen somewhere between 30 and 60 days after putting a property under agreement. This time frame can be even longer in the fall market because you have the holidays to work around.

I would suggest doing your best to get an offer accepted before October 1st to have the best chance at closing before we turn our calendars to 2022.

Any special advice for buyers looking to purchase a condo in the downtown Boston market right now?

Condo inventory in Boston is currently at 1089 total units. While this is about 50% less than last year, it is in line with the amount of inventory we would expect at this time of year.

The current inventory level leaves us with about 2.3 months of supply, indicating that we are still in a seller's market but getting closer to neutral market territory. Our agents still see some properties garner multiple offers the first weekend they're listed, while others are still on the market a week or two later.

My advice is to have your ducks in a row and be ready to pull the trigger if something comes on that really appeals to you, and hopefully, you won't have to compete with as many offers as you might have during the spring/summer!

For sellers looking to maximize their sale price, what advice do you have?

When working with sellers, one of the biggest pieces of advice that I give them is to eliminate distractions that buyers might see when they walk through their homes.

To do this, I tell the seller to put on their “buyer” hat and walk through their property together to look for things that need to be touched up, cleaned, or organized. Once we've identified a list of things that a buyer could potentially be distracted by while viewing their home, we connect them with our staging and contractor partners to prepare the home for sale.

Many of these distractions can be taken care of fairly inexpensively and will make the property much more attractive for both the listing materials we create and when people view it in person.