Buyers finally have the upper hand.
Welcome to real estate's new reality, where prices are down, foreclosures are up, experts are jittery, and a lot of for sale signs are getting weather-beaten. That may be bad news for homeowners, sellers and investors. Buyers on the other hand, have a rare point of advantage.
As a buyer, you now have plenty of choice, as well as the upper hand in negotiations. You also still have the benefit of low interest rates. If you're tempted to upgrade yet worry that your home isn't worth what it was six months ago, keep in mind that the home you want to buy is worth less too.
Moreover, if prices have fallen at the same rate on all homes in your market, the discount, measured in dollars, will be bigger for a more expensive house.
Say you're in a $200,000 home and want to move up to a $500,000 home. Your cost of upgrading will be $300,000.
But if prices drop 10 percent, your current house is worth $180,000; the one you've got your eye on is worth $450,000. Cost to upgrade: $270,000.
The housing market continues to be a bit of a mixed bag in Lane County. The supply of homes on the market continues to grow, with more homes being listed and sales lagging.
But prices also continue to rise, albeit more slowly than in the hot market of a couple of years ago.
In March, 686 new Lane County listings appeared on the Regional Multiple Listing Service's rolls, up from 599 for the same month a year ago. That brings to just under 1,800 the number of houses that have come on the market so far this year, an increase of 15 percent over the first quarter of 2006.
At the end of March, according to the RMLS statistics, Lane County had 1,577 active residential listings, enough to last about 4.5 months, given the rate of sales. In March a year ago, the number of homes on the market was enough to last only 2.4 months. During the superheated market of 2005, the inventory of homes for sale was just 1.8 months.
Deals closed on 347 home sales in March, down 9 percent from the same period a year ago. An additional 411 sales agreements were signed in March, also down from the year before, when 471 homes went under contract.
That means buyers still enjoy more of an advantage in the market than they have for the past two or three years, with one exception: Home prices continue to go up, although at a slower rate than before.
The median price of houses sold in the county last month - the figure at which half of the home prices were higher and half lower - was $237,000, compared with $212,000 in March 2006. But the increase has slowed considerably, with the bidding wars and instant sales common in 2004 and 2005 fading in memory.
Last month, the average time on the market for a listing was 78 days, well over three weeks longer than houses lasted for the same month a year ago, when 53 was the average.
Houses in some areas sell far sooner than others, however, and at different rates of appreciation.
In March, houses in west Eugene sold in an average of 36 days, while it took an average of 105 days in the North Gilham neighborhood. Price may have had something to do with that gap, as North Gilham homes sold at a median price of $334,900, compared with $203,000 in west Eugene.
The McKenzie Valley follows that same trend, having both the longest average market time - 126 days - as well as the highest median sales price for the first quarter of the year, at $400,000.
Condo Appreciation Rates
Average Change from
Sale Price Prior Year
2007 $251,300 4%
2006 $242,800 15%
2005 $210,600 21%
2004 $173,600 2%
2003 $169,900 N/A
Inventory in Months
2005 2006 2007
January 3.4 3.2 6.2
February 3.0 2.7 5.2
March 1.8 2.0 3.8
April 1.8 2.4
May 1.6 2.3
June 1.5 2.6
July 1.7 3.5
August 1.6 3.6
September 1.9 4.5
October 2.2 4.6
November 2.2 5.1
December 2.1 4.5
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