Addison County Market Update

I do not consider myself much of a bean counter but I do keep my eye on sales statistics as a tool to measure market activity as well as to help my selling clients understand what to expect with regards to the current buying activity. So, let’s take a look at market activity in Addison County. Addison County sales year to date (11/2/09), compared to last year sales are off about 16%, the average sale price has dropped 12% and the average days on the market is up 27%. While the market is not as stagnant as it feels at times, you do have to be reminded that all of the sales figures were off when comparing last year to the year before. The two year sales comparison shows that the total drop in sales for the two year period was 22%. The statistic that I find most interesting is that we actually had about 2% fewer listings this year than last. If you asked most people on the street, they would tell you that there were many more homes on the market than in prior years. Perception is not always reality.

If you look at the Land Sales data, you’ll see much more of a dramatic drop— with total number of lots sold down 50%, average sale price down 35%, and average days on the market up 37%. Clearly, these numbers reveal the sobering fact that the slowdown in the building industry is directly effecting the marketability of building lots. Once again, in spite of the sluggish sales, there are actually 6% fewer lots currently on the market than there were during the same time last year.

In spite of the grim statistics, I do have to report an increase in both phone call volume as well as e-mail inquiries in all sectors with a marked increase in what I call discretionary real estate purchases such as lakeshore, second homes and, yes, building lots. This increase in activity has been in the last 30-45 days and it is not necessarily tied to the first time home buyer’s credit. It seems that the buyers in this category have determined that the sky is in fact not falling and they are beginning to plan for the future and getting on with whatever plans they had put on hold last August. So stay tuned. I will be doing a year end re-cap after the first of the year which might be helpful for you to plan your next real estate move.

Wishing you all a very Happy Thanksgiving. - Chris


* Graph- As Reported by VREIN for Addison County, YTD 1/1/09— 11/2/09 vs. 1/108—11/2/08.