Market Update: Sales and Time on the Market Data

Traditionally, both July and August experience a lull in buyer activity as buyers go on vacations and may run out of time to sell and buy before school starts. And, oddly enough, every year things pick up in September.  Despite this being anything but a typical year, we're optimistic September will bring its usual renewed buyer activity, as mortgage rates remain historically low and the housing market is the bright spot in our nation's economy.

In a study just out this month, Bloomberg reports that Vermont leads the nation in having the most number of people, proportionately, moving to Vermont from out of state vs. Vermonters moving away! "Far more people moved to Vermont, Idaho, Oregon and South Carolina than left during the pandemic, according to data provided to Bloomberg News by United Van Lines." Moving companies also report that people are still pouring out of NYC, NJ, Chicago and LA,  so there is every reason to anticipate Vermont's housing market will continue to be healthy and strong this fall.

Picket Fence August Time on the Market, Averages by County

Chittenden     11 days

Franklin          28 days

Lamoille         30 days*

Rutland          35 days*

Washington    19.5 days

Grand Isle       21 days*

   * = based upon one reported sale only

Higher priced homes are selling well.  Half of all August Picket Fence sales received above $500k, including two for over $900k. Most notably,  the average Time on the Market for those properties was 32 days!


Our August online web activity is up slightly from July (which is NOT typical). We also saw a 14,600 increase in the number of page views last month, meaning people are looking at more properties once they reach our website.  We believe that this is an indication of how seriously buyers are looking, and that there are fewer properties on the market.

PicketFencePreview.com Web Activity - August 2020

76,405 visits

371,266 page views

Visitors by State of Origin (Top 10 States)

VT 43,066

NY   4,953
CT   4,303
MA  3,387
NH  2,403
FL   1,251
CA  1,126
NJ      961
VA      821
MI      721

"I got several emails almost as soon as I posted this ad, and the first one was an ideal buyer. Sold in 1 hour to an out-of-state buyer!" -- Charlotte Norris, Burlington $315,000 September 3, 2020