Yes, encouragement for sellers - It makes me very happy to be able to
be able to write some encouraging words for sellers, something I haven't done for quite awhile.
Those of you who read my blog on a regular basis know I follow my market stats closely and do not paint a rosey picture unless it's warranted.
Sales are picking up all over the U.S., not just in Del Norte Country. In most of the hot markets in California, housing sales are strong because of foreclosures. It has been that way in Del Norte County as well for the last 4-5 months, but in the last 4-6 weeks, there has been increased activity in homes over $250,000, the majority of which are not foreclosures. This is welcome news for sellers.
Here are my stats (I love stats):
- Homes $200,000 and under comprise 43% of active listings and 50% of pending/contingency sales
- Homes $201,000-$300,000 comprise 23% of active listings and 27% of pending/contingency sales
- Homes $301,000-$400,000 comprise 14% of active listings and 13% of pending/contingency sales
- Homes $401,000-$500,000 comprise 8% of active listings and 7% of pending/contingency sales
- Homes $501,000 and up comprise 13% of active listings and 3% of pending/contingency sales
40% of sales are between $201,000 and $400,000. That is a big increase over previous reports.
There is a caveat to this optimism--you knew there would be--home prices continue to decline. The increase in activity in the upper end home market is coming from buyers who are taking advantage of low interest rates. Foreclosures have not gone away, quite the contrary, they are still with us and the banks are more aggressive than ever in pricing well below market value, driving down prices for surrounding sellers.
If you are selling your home, talk to your real estate agent and find out what CURRENT comps have to say about the list price of your home. Make sure your are competitively priced to take advantage of this flurry of selling.
Thank you for stopping by. Your comments on this post are welcomed and appreciated.
No one sold more homes in Del Norte County in 2009, 2010 and 2011--*in units sold and volume--than Fran Gatti. Put Fran to work for you!
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Good news, finally! We're getting there!
Fran, thanks for calling attention to the silver lining. Sales are picking up, but prices are still trending down. I hate to be the gloomy one, but in my area, the number of foreclosures rose 503%, and there are 20 states that had worse performance than us, compared to a year ago. That means there will be more downward pressure on prices for at least the next several months, or longer. Investors may find opportunity all around now.
I want to re-post as we need all the good news we ca find. Thanks so much Fran. Great news!
I am hopeful that things will start to pick up, I am a little concerned about the "second wave" of foreclosures that are supposedly coming, hoping they wont' release them all at the same time :)
Good news is always welcome. I'll have to look at the stats for my area and do some comparisons. Oh! Yes, and include a commentary on it in my next round of market reports. I wonder if that would be something to share with a listing prospect that could seal the deal for them?