There are many indicators that are tell tale signs of whether the market is improving, days on the market, average sales price, sales to list price ratio and housing inventory levels. Housing inventory levels I believe are a key indicator. So how do you know whether the housing inventory is normal in your geographic area? The National Association of Realtors (NAR) indicates that normal inventory levels are 3.6% of the total markets occupied housing units. In the Palmer Wasilla area of Alaska there are 21,015 single family occupied housing units. Using NAR’s indicator of 3.6% a normal inventory level in our area would be 756 homes for sale. As of October 29, 2008 there are 1803 homes on the market for sale. That means we have a ways to go yet before our market is back to normal. But as I have indicated before, there are some price ranges within our market that have normal inventories already. So don’t let the overall number mislead you. If your home is valued at less than $245,000 there is good news. Almost all of the price ranges below $245,000 show a very normal housing market. If you have questions about your home, contact me at Kristan@KristanCole.com or call me at 907-373-3575.
Palmer/Wasilla AK real estate market showing improvements
Mat-Su Valley AK area Residential Real Estate Statistics Oct 2008
The end of the 3rd quarter of the year has come and gone. How is our residential real estate market fairing? Here are the statistics:
2007 2008 % change
Number of sales 1180 962 -18%
Ave. Sales Price $222,479 $221,993 -0%
Median Sales Price $210,113 $206,000 -1%
New Listings 1310 1511 +24%
New Pending Sales 1224 1002 -18%
Days on Market 77 84 +9%
When you compare the 3rd quarter year to date numbers, to the 2nd quarter numbers (see my July 13 post), you see improvement. The number of days on the market is fewer, the negative numbers for homes sales, pending sales and new listings are all better. So what does this mean? It means that while the year to date numbers are still negative compared to 2007, the 3rd quarter shows the market is getting better. There are several price ranges where we have a very normal market. See the attached absorption report. A normal market is where the number of months of supply in a particular price range is less than 6 months. We have a normal market up to $250,000.
Conversely, we still have a lot of inventory for homes priced over $250,000. That’s where the congestion is. This graph shows the number of new listings (green line) in the last 2 years compared to the sales and pending sales (dark green and blue lines). As I have said before, these sellers are in a pricing war and a beauty contest at the same time. Sellers need their homes to be in the best condition and at the same time have the best price if they expect to sell. Cleanliness is number one. Nothing is more important; it must be clean and smell clean. I also recommend sellers have their home staged by a professional. You only get one chance to impress the buyer, make sure your home is presented in the best light. Also the price of your home can’t just be good, it must be compelling.
If you need to sell your home this year, make sure you find a professional to help you. Approach selling your home in the same manner you would if you were looking for a doctor to perform surgery on you or a family member; do some research and pursue the best expert in the field who can demonstrate great outcomes and great results! Contact me at Kristan@KristanCole.com if you have specific questions. Kristan
Wasilla AK Residential Absorption Report Oct 2008
10/10/2008 Residential Absorption Report This report shows is how many months of supply we have in each price range. For example, currently there are 30 homes active for sale in the $215,000 to $225,000 price range. In the last 12 months, 60 homes were also sold in that same price range. We then can calculate how many months it would take to sell all 30 homes currently active for sale if not one more home came on the market for sale. We have a 6 month supply of homes in the $215,000 to $225,000 price range. There are several price ranges where we have a very normal market. A normal market is where the number of months of supply of homes for sale in a particular price range is less than 6 months. Price Range Active Sold DOM of Solds Months 150-175 50 152 3.9 175-185 23 61 4.5 185-195 18 90 2.4 195-205 23 87 3.2 205-215 22 65 4.1 215-225 30 60 6 225-235 15 45 4 235-245 18 39 5.5 245-255 35 45 9.3 255-265 15 32 5.6 265-275 20 40 6.1 275-285 18 36 6 285-295 25 27 11.1 295-305 16 20 9.4 305-315 6 12 6 315-325 13 11 14.1 325-335 13 10 15.7 335-345 8 12 8 345-355 12 11 13 355-365 3 8 4.3 365-375 9 8 13.4 375-385 4 6 8 385-395 7 6 14 395-405 6 4 18.2 405-415 0 3 - 415-425 8 6 16 425-435 2 2 11.8 435-445 6 2 35.3 445-475 13 8 19.4 475-500 13 6 26 500-550 7 6 14 550-600 7 12 7 600-700 13 5 31 700-800 5 2 29.4 800-900 9 * * 900- up 13 3 52 * Pendings – no sold. He would like to sign on Tuesday the 14th at 3:00pm.
