Washtenaw County Housing Statistics - March 2007

Well, this could be an interesting year for real estate in Washtenaw County.  What initially looked like a split personality in the market, finally resolved itself in March.  The first quarter of 2007 is behind us and it is safe to say that the market is getting tougher on sellers.

Average List Price

Average Sales Price

 I don't think much needs to be said about these two charts in conjunction with each other.  From the Big House Data Executive Summary:

"The split personality has also resolved itself in the average list prices and sales prices. While list prices jumped in February, March realized a nearly 14.5% decrease in average list price and a nearly 11.5% decrease in average purchase price.

Across the market in Washtenaw County, the word is out.  Price fishing will not work.  Price the property aggressively up front and it will not sit long on the market.   Anecdotally, Big House Data has heard of homes being on the market only a few days, have multiple showings and multiple offers.  The common thread in these properties is that they were priced below their nearest competition, and not just a few thousand.  In some cases, seventy-five thousand below the nearest competing home!"

As first debuted last month, I have a custom chart being generated by Big House Data that showsw the monthly gap between the Average Sales Price and the Average List Price.  Here it is again, and after one month, I kinda like this chart!

Average List Price v Average Sales Price

While initially hard to discern, the moving trend line for average list price has dropped more quickly than the average sales price in Washtenaw County for the month of March. 

Why the excitement?  Look back to the 2005 data and you will see that the average trend lines were tracking closer together than now.  With the trend lines working towards each other, we can see that stability is creeping into the market.  Right?

For a complete copy of the March 2007 statistics, please drop me a note at todd-at-toddwaller[dot]com.

Technorati tags: Michigan Real Estate, Big House Data, Market Statistics, Housing Market