Saugatuck area residential real estate market snapshot, July 1, 2015

Information below is residential data for the four lakeshore real estate subareas in Allegan County:

H20 - Laketown Twp, City of Holland south of 32nd St, Fillmore Twp west of M-40

H23 - Saugatuck Twp, City of Saugatuck, City of Douglas, Manlius Twp west of 58th St

H27 - Ganges Twp, Clyde Twp west of 56th St, City of Fennville south of M-89

S93 - Casco Twp

In May, median list prices were substantially above median sold prices in all four subareas we track. In June there was a bit of a shift. Median list prices are still above median sold prices in H20 and H23.  Median list prices were nearly double median sold prices in H20 in June.  However in H27 the median sold price was above median list price and in S93 the median list price was below the median sold price by only $20,000.  Median sold prices approaching or exceeding median list prices is a good thing, as it indicates that what is on offer in the residential real estate market is in the price range of what people want to buy.

There was another substantial increase in sales volumes.  The summer season is definitely in full swing.  The increase was from 42 total in May to 56 total in June. All of this increase was in H20, where there was a very high volume month: 27 sales took place in June.  Recent months in H20 have usually had 11-12 sales.  The quantity of available properties again increased: over 13% from June 1 to July 1. 

The median sales price of homes offered for sale decreased in all four subareas.  H20 remains a hotter market than the other subareas we track with 27 properties of the available 55 selling.  That means that around 49% of the inventory sold there, quite a fast clip.  The previous two months saw rates in the 20%-30% range.  However, what is selling in H20 is quite a lot cheaper than what is on offer, as we mention below.  Comparative inventory turnover numbers for H23 are 18 of 172 (10%), for H27 6 of 57 (10%) and for S93 5 of 51 (almost 10%).  Each of these was slightly off the turnover percentage recorded in May.

Sold prices were 51% of list in H20 almost identical to the previous two months’ percentages, 76% in H23 slightly higher than May’s 84%, 107% in H27, and 95% in S93.  Percentages on this statistic in the smaller subareas, H27 and S93, tend to jump up and down, limiting their use in analysis. 

This month we were able to review median home values in the subareas we track using the RPR tool.  RPR stands for Realtors Property Resource, and it is a database provided by the National Association of Realtors.  It provides analysis of individual property valuations, as do other tools such as Zillow’s Zestimate, but it also permits aggregation of those values by zip code, municipality, and school district.  These geographical areas don’t always correlate exactly with the subareas used by Realtors, but they are close enough so that some comparison can be made.  We did our analysis on June 25^th.  The RPR median values for homes then were:

What conclusions can we draw from this analysis?  This market has two primary sources of demand – principal residence and second homes.  Increasingly, more and more homes in the cities of Saugatuck and Douglas (and even in many parts of Saugatuck Township) are owned by second home owners.  We think the median sold price being greater than median RPR prices in H23 and S93 indicates that the second home buyers provide a larger portion of the demand in those subareas.  We think the lag between median sold price and median RPR price in H20 and H27 reflects some of the difficulty the principal residence market is having as a result of improving, but still lackluster, employment and salary growth around here.

I’m always looking for residential properties to list.  If you are thinking of selling, the summer season is here.  Want to learn more about what your home is worth?  Call me at 616-836-8535 for a no-obligation comparison to recent sales.  I can also tell you how my proven marketing system can get your home seen by people looking to buy.  An informed seller is my best asset in getting a home sold.  Call me if you’d like to learn more.