Before the Super Bowl XLIV gets started we thought we’d take a look at what happened in Belmont in January 2010.
We’re including two spreadsheets—one for this last January and to help put in perspective, the one from last January.
Most statistics across the country point to January of 2009 as the low point for the real estate market. But what are they saying? The lowest point for sales, median price or what?
Many pundits are saying that home values hit bottom in January of 2009 and in fact in many of the hardest hit areas like Phoenix that may well hold to be true. But for areas that initially fared better, indications are that the price erosion is continuing.
January 2010
January 2009
(Clicking on either chart will deliver a larger picture.)
Looking at these two data samples, it’s easy to see that sales in Belmont are indeed up—way up. January of 2009 was simply dismal with only four sales and reflected that overall uncertainty of the future as buyers chose to sit on the sidelines and wait to see how much more prices will tumble.
SALES
This January’s sales reflect more buyers entering the market and buying homes. In January of 2009 there were 31% more listings available yet sales increased this year by 175%!
What accounted for the huge increase in homes sales? Part of it appears to be the resignation by sellers that they must take less for their homes than they had hoped for a year earlier. Note that all but five homes which sold this January not only had a price reduction but on average all received only 94% of their already reduced price.
MEDIAN PRICE
Most sellers had to lower their initial asking price by $50,000 and then accepted offers another $50,000 less than that. On a median home price of $850,000 that represents a huge disparity between what sellers (or their agents) think their home is worth, and what buyers are willing to pay.
Sales were up indeed but at deeply discounted prices. The Median home price in Belmont was $850, 000 which is about 4.7% less than January of last year. But not only can you get a home for 4.7% less than last January the home you get will be 6% larger. Another way to look at it of course is that prices have really dropped closer to 11% year-over-year.
DOM
Have the price reductions and lower asking prices helped sell homes faster? Just the opposite turns out to be true. The days it takes a seller to seller their home has almost tripled from 42 to 125.
Enjoy the game!
The information contained in this blog is educational and intended for informational purposes only. It does not constitute legal, real estate or tax advice, nor does it substitute for profesional advice.
