We have great news to report in the real estate market on the Monterey Peninsula. In the second quarter of the year, we saw the number of sales increase, sales volume increase, average sale prices increase, inventory increase and days on market decrease. Clearly, in this quarter the rain clouds lifted from above the Monterey Peninsula and so did the slow start to the year. Looking back at Q1, January and February gave some of the quietest months we have seen in years. March started a measurable recovery in both new listings and sales. This surge continued throughout the second quarter across the entire Peninsula resulting in three of the busiest months in real estate over the last two years. The sun is now shining, town is busy, and summer is in full swing.
Much like the close of 2023, the Monterey Peninsula's real estate market had a sleepy start to 2024. The typical rainy and windy weather conditions throughout the opening months of the year paired with continued economic pressure on both the entry level and luxury ends of the market led to a slow first two months of the year. The entry level market remained uneasy due to lingering elevated interest rates. The higher end of the market stayed slow over the winter months due to macro-economic uncertainty, geopolitical concerns, and other distractions that kept most affluent buyers on the sidelines. Luckily, as we moved into March, we felt a surge of activity. After 91 new listings in January and 98 more in February, March saw 152 new listings come to market. This was the highest number of new listings we have seen come on the market in one calendar month since June of 2022.
The Monterey Peninsula was bustling this holiday season. Town was busy, shops and restaurants were full, and the outdoor lifestyle was in full swing for both the Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday weeks. The rest of the quarter was a bit quieter, as was the real estate market. Across the entire Peninsula, Q4 was down just slightly from the same quarter last year. For the entire year, 2023 experienced a meaningful reduction in the number of homes sold and in total dollar volume compared to 2022.
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