Market update for May 2010
Well, here we are in June with the tax credit behind us and the rest of this year ahead of us. Things got pretty crazy in the last couple of months leading up to the initial credit deadline. It will be interesting to see by how much the numbers for May are inflated (if at all) compared to the rest of the summer. So let’s have a look at some numbers from May. As always my focus will be on resale single family vs. new, townhome/condo since that makes up the majority of our current market.
New Listings: 1506, down 18.6% from April but up from May 09 by 1.3% Total actives sit at 5118 up 12.3% from May 09. Overall inventory levels hit their low point last year as sellers sat on the sidelines waiting for market prices to stabilize. The current inventory is still very low compared to 06/07. The good news is there seems to be a better mix of regular resale, short sale, and foreclosure homes for buyers to pick from. Short sales dominated last year’s market. If you are a buyer in this market talk to your realtor or call me for a better idea of which type of home represents the best deal for your situation.
Prices: The median sales price from May09 to May 2010 was up 2.3% from $185,000 to $189,171 while the average price over the same time frame went up 7% from $213,326 to $228,292. So what does all this mean to sellers and buyers in this marketplace?
For sellers: It took sellers about a year to get real on pricing as the market tumbled back in 2008. It will take that same year for buyers making offers to realize the big “homes on the cheap” party is over. As the economy and housing market continue to recover sellers will need to stay in the bottom 25% of their price range and do any fixes or upgrades needed to compete for sales. Sale numbers for May were at 844, 7.9% above last May, but still far below the numbers from 06/07.
For Buyers: Ya the tax credit is over (unless you were deployed military) get over it. There are two areas of focus for buyers the rest of the year. First, inventory and prices have come back at modest levels. Inventory needed to come back from last year. There were times last year where it became hard to find listings in the MLS that I would even show my buyers. Prices have a long way to go to recover from the heyday 06/07 market so current market prices still represent a bargain for buyers. The second area is interest rates. Rates are still at record low levels. Any rate between 4.5% and 5.5% is a great deal. Nothing I repeat NOTHING kills a buyers buying power like an increase in rates during the home shopping process.
To summarize: For sellers the market is a bit better than last year but still tough. Staging and pricing are your friends. For buyers, prices that are still low, and a better inventory combined with very low interest rates scream great buying opportunity. If you are thinking of buying call me yesterday before this year and this opportunity slip away.
Take care,
MIke
