Last year ended with much indecision regarding the future of our local housing market, and since there are typically fewer sales at the beginning of a new year, we thought it prudent to compare the first two months of 2019 to last year at the same time to better understand the state of our current market.
On an empirical note, we’ve sold all of our listings his year at our same pace—11 days on the market, but with fewer offers. All have sold over the asking price, but not for as much as in recent years past.
MEDIAN PRICE
This is always a good indicator of what the rest of the stats might reveal because if prices are down, so too typically is everything else.
2018 Median Home Price $1,697,750
2019 Median Home Price $1,649,000
Change = $48,750 or 3% drop YOY
*NOTE: The size of homes selling in 2018 were on average 9% larger which could indicate an increase in the home prices, not a decrease year-over-year.
HOMES SALES (Units)
2018 20
2019 13
YOY Change = 7 or 54% Decrease in sales in 2019 so far
PERCENT RECEIVED OF THE ASKING PRICE
2018 114
2019 102
YOY Change = 12% Less over asking in 2019
While sales in 2019 to date are slower than 2018, homes are on the market for about the same time—14 days.
And though sellers are taking offers that as a percentage are less over their asking price than in 2018 by a whopping 11%, in real dollars they may be ahead of where we were one year ago.
With the inclement weather, buyers may have perhaps had less motivation or incentive to go out and look at homes, but virtually the same number of new listings came on the market in both years during this period, and thus sales declined so the “Months of Inventory”, or the tine it would take to sell the current inventory at the current rate of sales, has gone up dramatically from .9 months in February of 2018 to 1.3 montsh this year—though still historically very low. If more inventory (homes for sale) develop, prices could see further erosion in home values.
Drew & Christine Morgan are REALTORS/NOTARY PUBLIC in Belmont, CA. with more than 25 years of experience in helping sellers and buyers in their community. As Diamond recipients, Drew and Christine are ranked in the top 50 RE/MAX agents nationwide and the top 3 in Northern California. They may be reached at (650) 508.1441 or emailed at info@morganhomes.com.
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The information contained in this article is educational and intended for informational purposes only. It does not constitute real estate, tax, insurance or legal advice, nor does it substitute for advice specific to your situation. Always consult an appropriate professional familiar with your scenario.