August Market Stats
Montpelier, Barre, U-32, Northfield, and Plainfield/Marshfield
|
|
For Sale |
New in August |
Closed in August |
Price Changes |
Contingent and Pending |
Closed last 12 months |
Active to Closed |
|
Montpelier |
49 |
9 |
3 |
11 |
7 |
69 |
.71 |
|
Barre City |
64 |
8 |
1 |
24 |
8 |
59 |
1.09 |
|
Barre Town |
71 |
11 |
3 |
10 |
8 |
71 |
1.00 |
|
U-32 |
73 |
9 |
9 |
15 |
7 |
61 |
1.20 |
|
Northfield/Roxbury |
38 |
7 |
1 |
6 |
0 |
30 |
1.27 |
|
Plainfield/Marshfield |
19 |
4 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
8 |
2.38 |
|
Area Totals |
314 |
48 |
17 |
69 |
30 |
298 |
|
The national press is at it again, doing its best to make people jittery about real estate. July's housing report did show a drop in national residential sales compared to last July. Duh. Lots of buyers pushed up their purchases into June to qualify for the tax credit.
The local report is a little different. We're still seeing very similar numbers of sales and activity between this year and last year. The uptick in the numbers of properties with price changes, and Active to Closed ratios at or above 1.0 suggest that this is still a buyer's market.
Another interesting number is the 9 closed sales in U-32. That's more than half of the area total. We all know that with small numbers (small sample size) it's risky to make any predictions or projections. I'm just saying that it's good to see that number a little higher than it's been-I think we're seeing a trend toward normalizing the annual sales.
Buyers: You're not going to want to miss this time to buy. Prices are lower than they've been in a few years. Yeah, we all know that. Interest rates are lower than they've been, well, ever. We all know that too. But if you put those two factors together, there is some tremendous buying power out there, and some really good buys. And if I hear one more person say, "What if prices go down another year?" I'm going to go bananas.
So what if prices come down another 2% or 3%? Take a $200,000 house. Ok, next year it's on the market at $194,000. Right now, at 4.5% interest over 30 years and 20% down, the monthly principal and interest payment is $810. If interest rates go up even a half of a point, your new payment is $859. So you've put your life on hold for a year, saved $6000 and get to pay $50 each month for that.
Sellers: Don't be fooled by a quick market analysis. Figuring out the market value of your home takes more work than multiplying the town assessed value by a factor. It takes more than taking the square footage and multiplying it by an average. To be accurate, you really have to research the comparable sales. Multiplying two numbers by each other to find the value makes about as much sense as pricing your house the same as your neighbor's because the location is the same. In this market, you've got to be smart, and you've got to have smart professionals on your side.
Special Offers:
Preferred Buyer-Want to know about properties that come up for sale as soon as it happens? Want to know about them even before a lot of realtors? Want to be the neighborhood know-it-all? I can set you up as a Preferred Buyer, and give you automatic and instant updates when things hit the market. Call or email for the dirt.
FSBO Consultant-Going to go it alone while selling your home? I'm still happy to help. I regularly work as a consultant in these cases. Call or email with questions about marketing ideas, pricing, contract questions, and anything else. It's free. I figure that if I help you, then maybe you'll pass along my name to someone who can use my help.
Foreclosed Properties-If you're willing to trade some uncertainty for the possibility of getting a heck of a price, let me set you up to get automatic updates about new foreclosures. Earlier this month, a honey of a home in Waterbury popped up as a foreclosure. Call or email to start getting updates.
Be smart. Remember Ray.
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