We hosted our Quarterly Market Update on April 22nd with the help of Jeannie Bolger of Nova Home Loans and our friends at Old Republic Title, featuring Tina Tamboer of the Cromford Report.
Here is what we learned:
1) The seller’s advantage, which has been dropping for a while, has started to manifest concessions for the buyer (some closing cost and price concessions).
2) Overall sales volume is down 26% Year over Year for March, but that reduction is from distressed properties going away. The number of “normal” sales has stayed almost exactly the same as last year.
3) Average prices are still going up because the market share of sales has shifted away from distressed sales and more towards normal sales, which generally have a higher price per square foot. In other words, more sales in the luxury market have a higher impact on average sales per square foot than they do on the median sales price trend line.
4) Normal active listings are sitting longer in MLS because investors have left for the most part because:
a. First-time and “Boomerang” buyers often don’t have the cash reserves to fix up a property
b. These consumers often purchase a smaller property in good condition at a higher $/SF over a bargain larger home for the same price that needs work. In other words, the days of listing a property without having done improvements first are gone. Buyers expect nice properties, rather than distressed properties.
5) Homes in historic neighborhoods are still commanding higher prices as more people want to live in CenPho and downtown.
This is a market in shift. If you need some help figuring out the best strategy to buy or sell, please contact me at ken@getyourphx.com or 602-456-9388.
Cromford Indx and Concessions
Loss of Distressed Properties -2014
