In Boston, a good fall buyers market, but low inventory

Cooler weather in September not only brought a swift end to summer, but according to some reports, the unseasonal cold snap cooled the home sales market, too. Normally, once summer holidays are done, the market picks up mid-September through early November, in a last hurrah of buying and selling. Did the chilly air kill the Greater Boston market?

“Well, yes and no,” says Realtor Susan Piracini of RE/MAX Leading Edge of Back Bay. “There was a cooling in the market and we did have a slow September, and some of that was weather related. But, overall, it was more a reaction to the red-hot crazy spring and summer market.”

Piracini says this year’s frenzied bidding wars, which pushed most home sales over asking price, scared a lot of buyers off.

“It got to the point where there was buyer resistance to the higher prices homes were making. Sellers got cocky and pushed prices up and up. After seeing ten homes and getting outbid on each, buyers give up and go and rent.”

Fall, however, is a good time for buying. Many home owners whose houses haven’t sold are more willing to negotiate, especially as most people want to move before the holidays kick in.

“This is usually a great time of year for buyers. But much of the inventory did get snapped up, so they might have to settle for something that isn’t their ideal home. But they can get a good deal,” says Piracini.

With inventory and mortgage interest rates very low, the 2015 market will likely be another hot one – just not quite as crazy as this past year.

“There’s a natural leveling off. It’s no giant correction, nothing like what we saw in 2008. This past year has been tough on buyers. I said to my husband that this would be a great year to sell, but we thought where would we go? So, we stayed put,” says Piracini.