Low inventory continues to impact home sales across the Cape and the islands. 

The Cape Cod & Islands Association of Realtors March Market report found market activity fell in the first quarter of 2022, as for-sale inventory continued to decline. 

In the first quarter, 855 homes sold on the Cape, including 663 single-family homes and 192 condominiums, at median prices of $650,000 and $425,000, respectively. A year ago, 856 single-family homes and 237 condos sold at a median prices of $590,000 and $340,000, respectively. 

There were 718 single-family homes and 221 condominium sales pending at the end of the first quarter. Pending sales for single-family homes fell 24% from the first quarter of 2021 while pending condominium sales had a 22.5% decrease. In the first quarter of 2021, there were 945 pending single-family homes and 285 pending condominium sales.  

Listings also fell year over year for the quarter, down 27.5% for single-family homes and down 37.2% for condominiums. By the end of March, there were 274 single-family homes and 93 condominiums for sale in the Cape Cod & Islands Multiple Listing Service, compared to 278 single-family homes and 148 condos listed at the same time last year. 

CCIAOR CEO Ryan Castle said the association is seeing the expected decline in total sales due to persistent low inventory levels over the last two years.

”What we are watching into the future is how consumers respond to rising interest rates and new rules governing second-home loans by Fannie Mae, which might just give cash buyers even more of an upper hand moving forward,” he said in a press release. 

Homes for sale with a list price of under $500,000 also fell in the first quarter with 209 single-family homes and 186 condominiums listed, down 48.6% and down 35.9%, respectively, from the same time last year. 

The report also found drops in cumulative days on market as single-family homes fell 52.1% from the same time last year, dropping from 73 days to 35. Condominiums fell 46.3%, dropping from 82 days to 44.