In the Fox Cities area it's a Buyer's Market, unless you're selling and then it's a Seller's Market. What if you're doing both you ask, well....perhaps it's a wash. There's no question that of late the Real Estate Market has been volatile in many ways, a virtual roller-coaster if you will. So how do we define our present market conditions.
Lets take a look at the terms we so commonly hear and break them down. First up is BUYER'S MARKET, this simply defined means that the market has more inventory (people selling their home) than buyers, the end result of which is lower prices or also known as a soft market. Second is the SELLER'S MARKET which again simply define means there are more buyers than sellers, the end result of which is higher prices. It all boils down to supply and demand either way you look at it. So what's the answer, is this a Buyer's Market or is it a Seller's Market? We're getting closer.
As I watch the national news and listen to the reports from across the country I would have to say we're in a Buyer's Market and with that being said, I'm not from across the country I'm from Appleton, WI. so what does that mean to us? It means we need to break things down to the local market conditions. It's amazing how much the market differs from one area to another let alone one part of the country to the other and Green Bay has a much different market than the Appleton/Fox Cities area, and from there we could break it down even further to adjoining communities but for the sake of keeping this blog from turning into a book we won't.
I was just reviewing our company, Coldwell Banker- The Real Estate Group, statistics for April 2008 and our website had 278,755 visitors in that month. A year ago, April 2007, there was 231,912 visitors or an increase this year of 20.20%, an average of 8,992 visits per day. Total page views for the month was 2,051,087 or an average of 7.4 pages per visitor. With statistics like this it proves it- IT'S A SELLER'S MARKET just look at all the people wanting to buy a home! Well, wait a minute, this shows that a lot of people are looking and there's a lot of activity but does it mean there are more buyers than there are homes on the market? AHA- I knew it IT'S A BUYER'S MARKET! Well, wait a minute, remember it's all about supply and demand, a true Buyer's Market would have lower prices as a result of an excess of homes on the market. According to our local Realtors Association, Realtors Association of Northeast Wisconsin, inventory (homes on the market) is down 7% from last year. But I thought prices were lower now you might ask, my short answer is that some are and some aren't. My observation has been that home prices have reached a plateau if you will. I'm not going to sugar coat it, if someone bought a home within the last few years and are putting it on the market now the odds are very good that they won't see as much in their bottomline as sellers have been seeing. Here we go again, IT'S A BUYER'S MARKET! No, I'm still not convinced and here's why, remember early on I said perhaps it's a wash? Granted sellers in the market right now may not see the bottomline they used when they sell but they too are buyers affording stabilized home prices and low interest rates.
My conclusion is that here in the Fox Cities area it's a great time to Buy and Sell a home. As far as defining the market, call it what you will and enjoy your buying and/or selling experience.
For more information on Buying and Selling your home in the Appleton/Fox Cities area call me today: Bob Edwards (920)993-8291 Direct Hotline or email bedwards@coldwellhomes.com
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