It has been a bit since I had the time to sit down and post a blog about what is going on in the real estate market in Haywood County. Bottom line, it continues to be a very, very strong buyers market. Properties are still moving with the average sales price in the $200,000 range for single family homes. Our inventories of all property types are quite high with over 1200 in the residential market alone (single family residential). As of the other day we as a county had sold 7 more residential propertiesthan this point last year. NOT a stellar performance by any stretch.
Land sales continue to struggle with less than 50 parcels selling as of Wednesday. There are almost 1800 parcels on the market at this time. It does not appear that the land market will pick up this year.
So many factors continue to effect the real estate market. Haywood County, historically has depended on the Floridians to buy second/investment homes in our area. With the continued troubles in the Florida market it does effect what is going on here. It will come back, but much slower than most would have predicted. In general there is good news across the county with pending homes sales increasing month after month, existing home sales increasing, and even new construction. Much of the sales can be contributed to tax credits which frankly did not provide much to our market. I do see this as a positive. The markets that had a surge due to the tax credit may now see a period of decline. We hope that in Haywood County that we just stay steady and I believe that will be the case.
Other positive factors include historically low interest rates. For those who are buying they are getting very cheap money, huge inventories to choose, and prices from 5-7 years ago.
Foreclosures and short sales continue to hit our market at well, but are still a very small percentage of our total inventory. The negative with these properties is that they undercut the market around the home and typically will be the first to go depending on the circumstances. If you have your home for sale in a neighborhood with foreclosed or short sale properties, you may have to wait for them to sell and cleared out of the inventory before you have a legitimate chance to sell your home.
What is the prime factor for sales in our area? PRICE! There is no way around it. If you are a seller and are clinging for dear life to a specific price, you better take another look at it. Put it this way, if you want $100,000 for your home and your Realtor tells you that the market says the home is overpriced you have 2 options. Reduce the price or hold on to it. If you hold on to it this is what will happen:
If you can sell your home now for $95,000, but you are hanging on for $100,000, think about this. If you are paying $1000/m and because you are stubborn and do not lower your price, you hold the home for another 7 months. That equals another $7000+ in payments, utility costs, taxes, and insurance not to mention any maintenance issues. What will happen is you will hold on for 7 months, finally figure out that you need to take less and you will lose$10,oo0+ instead of the original $5000.
You also have to remember that in this market you will make it up on your next purchase. If you are looking to turn around and buy another home, you will now be in the position to get the best deal. The longer you wait to sell, the greater chance that your property will continue to lose value and you will really lose your shirt! Get it priced to sell and move on!
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