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The Sussex County housing market showed significant signs of strength in the third quarter of 2019, with modest sales increases coupled with sharp price appreciation. Sales were up almost 2%, a welcome change from the past two quarters. Even with that quarterly increase, though, sales are still down over 8% for the rolling year. But the real story is pricing, which was up across the board: rising almost 3% on average and 8% at the median for the quarter, and finishing a rolling year up over 4% on average and 10% at the median. The other indicators support the theory that Sussex has moved into a seller’s market, with the days‑on‑market falling and the listing retention rate rising: homes are selling more quickly and for closer to the asking price, demonstrating that sellers are continuing to gain negotiating leverage with buyers. Going forward, we believe that the seller market fundamentals are strong: a growing economy, prices well below historic highs, low interest rates, and relatively low levels of inventory. So we expect to see continued appreciation and maybe even some sales growth through the winter and into 2020.
