HYANNIS – More people from metro areas inside and outside of Massachusetts are looking into buying a home on Cape Cod, according to Cape Cod and Islands Association of Realtors CEO Ryan Castle.
Castle said they’ve seen a dramatic increase in housing demand on Cape Cod since May 15. He added that houses going under contract weekly in that time have seen increases as high as 100% compared to last year.
Castle included the caveat that those increases could be due to the coronavirus pandemic and restrictions that came with it, and that time will tell if the rise is temporary or not.
“We will see that over July and August, and know whether it’s actually new demand or if that’s pent-up,” Castle said.
Castle has noticed more people recently thinking about buying a home on Cape Cod to get away from major metro areas around cities like Boston and New York. That too could be temporary, though, since the association has not seen home inventories rise in those places.
“So until we see that permanent uptick in inventory and them deciding to come here, we don’t know if they’re coming for a temporary rest and a second home, or whether they’re going to try to make a life of it, working from home on the Cape,” he said.
Many of those perspective buyers could be potentially looking to buy in the area, Castle explained, because jobs are as flexible as ever. That allows workers to practically move wherever they choose.
Castle said that Cape Cod housing values continue to rise due to the inventory shortage, pointing to the lowest point of housing inventory within the area in two decades. Much like other factors, Castle said that the inventory levels may or may not be a trend.
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