Seller's update for the Del Norte County real estate market.
I felt compelled to write this seller's update on the Del Norte County real estate market because I am fielding A LOT of questions on this topic these days. I am getting a lot more calls for listings, which generally happens this time of year, and many of the listings are for upper end homes, $350,000 and above.
I feel like a broken record saying the same stuff over and over again, and believe me, my clients do not want to hear it, but I call it like I see it based on statistics and quantifiable market data, not smoke and mirrors.
The market data says it's slow for upper end homes. That should come as no surprise to anyone, but believe it or not it does. I still have clients who think the market has picked back up. Well it has, but for homes priced $200,000 and under, they comprised 66% of all residential sales from October 1, 2009 to today.
Why? We have a financing vehicle for these folks and they've been priced out of the market for so long that there's plenty of pent of demand. Most are first time home buyer's with some investors sprinkled in. Investors usually have cash and first time home buyers have the USDA Rural Housing Program. Financing a home above $350,000 can be a bit more challenging, plus most buyers in that category have to sell their home in order to buy.
The long and short of it is only 4 homes priced over $350,000 have sold in Del Norte County since 10/1/09 and none have sold since that date that were priced over $550,000.
Do I see that changing?
Well yes. We are coming out of our slow season, so sales overall should pick-up, however, even if upper end home sales doubled, that would mean about 1.5 homes in that price range would sell a month! There are currently 60 homes for sale over $350,000 in Del Norte County, so, if they sold at the rate of 2 per month, it would still take over two years to sell all the current inventory (the absorption rate).
If you must sell a home that is in the over $350,000 price range, you will want to be competitive. In other words, the nicest home for the money. If your home is not competitive, it probably will not sell in a timely manner.
Another thing to consider...will my home appraise?
You may list your home for your dream sales price and get a full price offer, but if your buyer is using financing, you have a HUGE hurdle to jump over with the appraisal process. A bank will not lend more than the appraised value, so even if you get that dream price, you may have to face reality by renegotiating your price because of an under-appraisal. It's happening more and more so be aware of that possibility.
You can lessen your chances of having your home have appraisal issues, long days on market, and other problems by working with a FULL TIME agent who has actually sold a bunch of homes and is successful. Your chances greatly increase in selling your home in a timely manner if you work with a professional who follows their market and sells a fair amount of homes.
If you have questions about the Del Norte County real estate market I would love to answer them. I like to talk about our market statistics and how they affect you the home buyer and seller. Give me a call.
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--*both in number and volume--than Fran Gatti. Put Fran to work for you!
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Thanks for the update Fran! I'm curious as to how is the median price being affected by the lack of upper end home sales?