This is all the data for all residential new, sold, pending, expired/canceled listings for Whatcom County (only) through September 2nd (9:00 am).
Let's break these graphs down into chunks -
1. The top-left graph is all the new residential listings per month - it's important to look at this graph compared to the one below of the "normal" 6 phases to the yearly housing cycle. You can see that this year was different starting in March when COVID-19 took over our lives. The good news is the recovery that we've had starting in June to help replenish some of the low-inventory.
2. The top-middle graph is important to look at the pending absorption rate. Look at the blue (new listings) compared to the orange (pended listings) - the trend line shows that as of August we were pending more than we were getting new listings and therefore we remain in a low-inventory status for buyers.
3. The top-right graph is just like the pending one except that we're looking at actual sold listings - those are the ones that made it all the way through closing. It's different because although all those pending ones "went pending" some of them didn't close (see my previous blog regarding why listings come back on the market). The blue represents the new listings that month and the grey, the sold listings.
4. The middle-left graph shows what is happening to the listings that are listed each month. Take January, for instance, out of all the 171 listings that were new for that month: 8 are still active, 2 are pending, 138 of them sold, and 23 either expired or were canceled. This helps see how many listings didn't sell!
5. The middle-middle graph is the median days on market for the month that listings sold. Jan-Feb was normal for a wintertime season but look how the days dip so low in the months after... that has a lot to do with the lower-than-usual inventory that started at the end of March through June, we're still in recovery from that to this day.
6. The middle-right graph is the sold median price per square foot for Whatcom County - that usually is the opposite of the graph to the left meaning that the fewer days on market = more competition that drives prices up!
7. The bottom-left graph is really just telling us how many listing prices were lowered. If the orange column is below the blue - that's how much the median price reductions were for that month.
8. The bottom-middle graph shows the last list price (if it was lowered it's less than the original list price) - so take September, for example, look how the grey column is higher than the orange? That indicates (and it's too early to really tell for this month) that there may have been a bid-war that caused a listing to be sold above the last list price.
9. The bottom-right graph, last but certainly not least, shows the original price compared to the sold price. If the grey column is bigger than the blue then we're in a super-hot market and listings are being bid and sold above the original ask price.
All of that being said, what really matters is what is happening in your community. If you'd like to see a graph of your niche neighborhood, it's at my fingertips at all times. All of this information really works together to give you a look at what the housing market looks like in your particular community or city. This helps you make informed decisions on list price, as well as, offer price. You need someone on your side that knows this data and can aid you in listing your home or making an offer that will be accepted!
Here's a great visual of how this year differs from previous years:
Heather Stevenson BROKER
CELL 360.441.7120
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