Watching certain markets across the United States heat up you can't help but wonder what is happening to the housing market in New Milford, CT? We are on track to have the best month in number of sales for 2013 if things continue to go as they have so far. Of course I won't be able to tell until the end of the month and there are only a few more days for any closings to happen. Sales are still down however, we haven't broken 20 for a month since last year.
The success of the real estate market is tied to many other things, none less than the employment rates in the state, the proximity of jobs available to New Milford, confidence in the housing market, good rates and a lower housing inventory. Connecticut again posted a rate higher than the national unemployment averages which needs to come down in order for the real estate market to feel more positive effects.
The unemployment rate in Connecticut has been at 8.0 for the last three months, the national average for April posted at 7.5. When we hear that the market in our neighboring state of Massachusetts is really heating up you must look at their unemployment rate, which was last posted at 6.4%, where it has been for a while. This means more people in Massachusetts are working and can afford to purchase homes. Point blank. Also, they went through the short sale scene earlier and faster than we did.
A new problem for New Milford CT seems to be an abundance of short sales.
Our inventory is still down, which is a great thing for sellers. Although for buyers looking up to $300,000 it is slim pickins, and much of those are short sales, a full 10% of the active single family homes for sale in New Milford are now short sales.
What impact does this have on a seller? If you are not in a short sale position and you price your home correctly according to condition and location, you should find that you will have lots of showings and hopefully an offer fairly quickly. I will caution you that overpricing can cause issues, especially when it comes time for the buyer to do an appraisal.
If you are a seller in a short sale position, it will take longer to sell, however with the inventory shrinking you just may procure that much needed offer. It is imperative that you are prepared to work with your agent, attorney and lender to get the ball rolling as quickly as possible once an offer does come in! Some short sales can be pre approved prior to going on the market, if you would like to know if that is your situation, give us a call at 860.946.0686 to further discuss the matter.
34 homes are under deposit. of these, the majority (15 homes) are in the $200,000-$300,000 price range. Again, this seems to be our hottest market right now. Of the homes that are under deposit, 4 are short sales and 2 are foreclosures.
40 homes are listed as sale pend
ing. This means contracts are signed and most contingencies have been met. 15 of these homes are short sales which translates to 37.5%. That is very, very high. These short sales will sit in the pending sale status for far longer than a traditional sale making it very hard to judge what is going to happen. 3 homes that are pending sale are foreclosures.
Buying a home in New Milford, CT can be tight for anything under $300,000. First time home buyers can get very frustrated, many of the homes they are looking at are short sales that may need work, and very importantly, time to wait for the short sale to be approved by the lender. Homes that are priced well and are not short sales are moving very, very quickly. Often with multiple offers on them. This means you must be FULLY prepared when looking for a home.
- Pre qualified, or better yet, pre approved (if possible)
- Ready to run out and look at a moments notice
- Be prepared to decide quickly to put an offer in or move on
- Remember, in this lower price range it is NOT a buyers market.
What we are seeing is in a multiple offer situation, sellers are choosing buyers that are NOT using 100% financing. This does not mean there isn't hope if you are using a product that is 100% financing, but you must be aware you may have to move on until you find someone that is not afraid of 100% financing. The housing market in New Milford is not sliding backwards and this is good news. It is fragile, and those who are selling or buying should know what the latest market conditions are.
Keeping you updated on the housing market in New Milford, CT.
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