Brought to you by Scott P. Rogers, Funkhouser Real Estate Group, 540-578-0102, scott@HarrisonburgHousingToday.com
Brought to you by Scott P. Rogers, Funkhouser Real Estate Group, 540-578-0102, scott@HarrisonburgHousingToday.com
Tuesday, July 11, 2017
Check out fantastic home for sale on Central Avenue!
June 2017 flew by like a blur -- and although home sales were a bit slower than in May 2017 -- nearly all housing market indicators are still showing signs of a robust and active local real estate market.
I just published my most recent monthly market report, and as usual, you can read on for an overview, download the full report as a PDF, read the entire report online, or tune in to my monthly video overview of our local housing market...
OK -- now, back to a high level overview of where things are with the local real estate market....
As shown above, most market indicators are looking good....
- Home sales actually declined by 11.84% this June as compared to last June, but....
- Year-to-date home sales are up 1.16% this year as compared to last year.
- The median sales price has edged up, ever so slightly, to $190,000 when looking at 2017 YTD as compared to 2017 YTD.
- Homes are selling in a median of 33 days, as compared to 53 days in the first half of last year -- so, they are selling 38% faster in 2017!
As you can see, above, home sales dropped from 148 in May to 134 in June this year -- but last year, they increased from 133 in May to 152 in June. It is hard to say why this trajectory is reversed this year -- it may have to do with when sellers happened to be ready to sell, and when buyers happened to be ready to buy this year as compared to last year. Regardless, the net change from last year to this year is a decline of only three home sales when combining May and June data.
Looking forward, I believe we'll see a further decline in closings in July, or at least that is what has happened in most recent years. Unless contract activity convinces us otherwise....
Looking at when buyers are signing contracts, it is notable that we have seen a steady stream of buyers (132 - 140 per month) over the past four months. This is a total of 542 contracts signed in the past four months -- as compared to 560 last year during the same timeframe. As we move forward, we should have at least two more months of 100+ contracts before contract activity inevitably starts to slow in September and October.
And what are all of these buyers choosing from when they contract on a home?
It seems that buyers are choosing from fewer and fewer homes these days! Inventory levels have been hovering around 400 homes for sale over the past six months -- and the normal influx of new listings in the Spring selling market has not been able to keep pace with a higher level of buyers buying homes. As such, we have not seen the typical increases in inventory levels between the Winter and Spring market -- there are actually FEWER homes on the market now than there were this past February!
OK - now for a shocking statistic of the month....
Did you catch that, above, in yellow? When looking at the homes that sold in the City of Harrisonburg during June 2017 -- the median "days on market" for those home sales was 8 DAYS!?! So, half of the homes that sold went under contract within 8 days of being listed for sale. Wow! I guess that's what you get with increasing buyer demand and decreasing inventory levels.
There are actually quite a few astonishing tidbits in this month's report, but I'll get into those in the coming days on my blog.
Until then -- feel free to download and read my full market report as a PDF, or read the entire report online.
And, my reminders for buyers and sellers last month still apply....
SELLERS -- even though it is a seller's market in many price ranges right now, you must still focus on price, condition and marketing.
For further reading on buying or selling in this area, check out....
