Bethpage School District Homes ~ Market Trends Report ~ March 2008

The following is the March 2008 Home Trends Market Report for the Bethpage School District.  This report shows month-by-month comparisons, in addition to year-over-year market trends.  Since this report comes at the end of the first quarter of the year, there is also a comparison of the year-over-year quarterly market trends.  This report provides statistical information about homes sold in the Bethpage School District including:  location of homes, list price, sold price and days on market.

It is important to note that monthly reports provide a relatively small sampling of homes which often times results in extreme fluctuations that may or may not be indicative of the market trend for the Bethpage School District.  The quarterly market trend has more data, and as such, gives a more accurate look at the current market trend.  However, it should be noted that the market data is still relatively small and subject to extreme fluctuations based on sales that are atypical of the rest of the sales in the Bethpage School District. 

This report is designed to give factual information about sales in the Bethpage School District.  If you are interested in finding out the market value for your particular home, you should consider having an actual market analysis done. 

These reports are done by school district rather than town because school districts play a very important role in home prices on Long Island.   

Below the actual data you will find an analysis of the real estate trends for homes in the Bethpage School District.

MARCH 2008 HOME SALES

MARCH 2007 HOME SALES

MONTH-BY-MONTH & FIRST QUARTER YEAR-OVER-YEAR COMPARISONS 

MARKET TREND ANALYSIS: 

Based on the January and February year-over-year statistics, it appeared that the market was softening in the Bethpage School District.  However, March 2008 showed a vast improvement over March 2007.  The numbers for March of 2008 were extremely strong.  While the first quarter of 2008 was weaker than the first quarter of 2007, it is mostly due to the numbers from January and February.  If March is any indication of the trend in the area, things are definitely looking up.

CONCLUSION:

One month does not make a trend, but homeowners in the Bethpage School District should be pleased with the March numbers.  The most positive statistic is that 12 new homes came on the market during the month, and there were also 12 closings.  It is very rare in the current market to have a month where inventory did NOT increase.  Home prices are based on supply and demand, just like any other product.  When inventory is high, prices are usually dropping, and when inventory is low, prices are usually rising.  The fact that the ratio of sales price to the list price rose by 3 percentage points is also a good sign, and sales prices were higher than any other time this year.

Homeowners are pricing their homes to sell in the area, as average days on market is decreasing, and sitting a level that is lower than most areas.  Homebuyers should take into account that the media may focus on the softening national real estate market, but the fact of the matter is that the market in the Bethpage School District is showing some very positive trends.  Any homebuyers waiting for a market "bottom" may end up missing out on an opportunity to buy while interest rates are still low. Furthermore, the economic stimulus package has raised the loan limits for both FHA and Jumbo loans until the end of 2008.