Market Report 6-5-09

This report pertains to residential homes on less than 10 acres sold from May 22nd to June 4th as reported by the Lebanon Board of Realtors MLS.

In the last 2 weeks there were 7 homes sold for a total of almost 805 thousand. The average price of these homes was almost 115 thousand and the median price the same, these homes had an average time on the market of 228 days. There are currently 14 homes listed as under contract in the Lebanon MLS and those homes have an average price of 124 thousand.

Year to date there have been 73 homes sold, down from last years 113 during the same time frame the average price is just over 107 thousand dollars compared to last years 105K, the YTD volume of almost 7.8 million is down from last years 11.8 million. Our average time on the market this year has been 173 days, that's drastically up from last years 137 day average.

As of this morning there were 345 homes in Laclede County with less than 10 acres, listed with the Lebanon MLS. The average asking price is around $143,000 with median asking price of just about $120,000; these homes have an average time on the market of 174 days.

Well our current market conditions continue to look somewhat poor and because of that a new problem has emerged. Last week I went to a class about accomplishing short sales that certified me as a default resolution specialist. Out nation is being plagued by a problem both predictable and resolvable. The problem is that many Americans can't pay their mortgage due to job loss, reduced income, a reset arm, or some other hardship. To make matters worse they owe more on the home than it is worth in today's market. Many of these people are good people and in some cases are being preyed upon by swindles who say they can help for a small fee. One of the best options out there is what's called a short sale. Short sales have been around for years it is just now that it has become more important than ever that realtors know how to accomplish them. Banks are being inundated with short sale requests, short sales will soon out number foreclosure sales. The problem is that 95% of short sale packages submitted get thrown away because they are incomplete. I am so excited to be in a position not only to help a struggling home owners know what to do, but to know that I can get it in front of the right people and make the sale happen. If you can't pay your mortgage or you know someone struggling, we offer a free service and a confidential phone consultation. We hope our new knowledge will help struggling home owners all over Laclede County.