2007 could be an interesting year

 Well, the first month of 2007 is in the books and on charts!  My favorite provider of area real estate statistics, Big House Data, LLC, had a late Valentine's Day Gift for its subscribers - January Housing Numbers!

As you can see from the chart to the left, there were a lot of listings in the month of January - 1,318 to be exact.  This is the greatest number of residential and condominium listings in the month of January...period.  1,300 listings in a month has typically been reserved for the summer months the last few years.

While the number of new listings is spooky, there were 211 closed transactions in the month of January.  To see a greater number of closed sales in January, we would have to go back to January 2002 with 254 closings.

From Big House Data's Monthly Executive Summary:

So if, anecdotally, December had an increase in the number of showings, January should see an uptick in the number of closings. Right? Even with the announcement of Pfizer leaving the Ann Arbor area, closings were up compared to the same month the year before.   In fact, this is the first January to break 210 sales in a month since January 2002 with 254!
Not only does the market have a pulse, it appears as though the pulse might be quickening!
Listings per month could be the fly in the ointment. January 2007 is off to a wicked pace for listings.   If parity is to come back into the housing market, the number of listings hitting the market needs to cool off.   As a seller, this means that you have to break through record numbers of listings coming onto the market, let alone the ones already languishing on the market.
Price and quality are key in a buyer's market. With new listings increasing, there will be greater downward pressure on price and white glove attention to detail by buyers.

Sage advice indeed.  Here are some additional charts for your perusal:

Average Sales Price:

Average Days on Market:  

If you would like a copy of the full report, please drop me a note at:

todd-at-toddwaller-dot-com.

Technorati tags: Michigan Real Estate, Market Statistics, Marketing, Ann Arbor, Washtenaw County, Housing Market, Big House Data, Todd Waller, Seller Tools, buyer Tools