Another year now in the records books. It was a fairly calm ride this last year. The median sales price, on a 3 month rolling average, was up 3% for the year. Year over year though, the median list price for the inventory of single family homes is down 3.7%. Average days on market for the inventory is now 95 days, up from 85 a year ago.
Both the supply and the demand have been trending down since late summer which is seasonally typical. The number of homes for sale is 575, up from 378 a year ago. The number of pending deals is also up to 253 deals, a 7.2% gain. The median price of the homes for sale is currently $578,750. Short sales and bank owned properties are still an insignificant portion of the market.
this month
At a Glance
Average Months of Inventory
0
Average 30YR Fixed Mortgage Rate
0%
Available Home Inventory above $450k
0
The most telling market statistic is the months of inventory. It peaked in July at 3.1 months and is now 2 months. That continues to clearly be a seller’s market. A balanced market still seems to be quite far away.
Buyers don’t generally seem to realize that it is still a seller’s market until they are trying to buy one of the better homes in the inventory. The media tends to paint a glummer picture which distorts the actual conditions. The net result is that deals tend to occur in the more traditional fashion with some negotiations occurring, and more normal provisions in the contracts. It is pleasant to see this calmer world where probably wiser, more thoughtful decisions are being made.
Don is going to retire as a real estate agent soon, so this is likely the last newsletter. He is still available though for some real estate advice or just conversation. Enjoy January.
