LIFE GOES ON. As expected, the trifecta hit the market this month. A Wall Street disaster, the State Fair in town and an election looming have all factored into a really slow October. The inventory remained about the same, but the number of sold properties this month was about half of that in September. The Good News: lots of homes are under contract right now and November should be a good month, back on track.
Original Homes: No real changes this month to inventory or Days on Market. Only 11 homes sold out of 136 listed, reflecting the general October slowness. But baby, the Craftsman bungalow is HOT! Several sales recently topping $200/sqft. This barrier was breached by the M-Street Tudor a couple years ago, but the smaller, wood-framed Craftmans have not caught up. Recently, we've seen several going at $205, $210/sqft.
Newer Construction: Only two new construction sales this month with 30 still available. Prices holding steady at around $600K for sold prices. How many homes have to sell at this price before builders realize that prices above $750K do not fly here? One interesting thing this month, pre-owned new homes are starting to outsell new construction, never lived-in homes. This has been a long time coming as the area continues to gentrify. We now have enough new construction resales to be competitive with the new builds.
Condos/Townhomes: No real changes in this market. 3 condos sold with 40 on the market. The average selling price is $115K for those three. This would not buy a doormat at the Palomar where half the inventory remains and no units sold this month, or last.
Lot Values: One lot was sold this month, out of 21 on the market. For those keeping track, that's averaging about one per month over the last 6 months. The price on this one was $215K, and I remain amazed at the number of people marketing building lots at $250K without any price reductions. That price was aggressive a year ago, but is just silly now.
And Now for the Numbers:
| Total on Market | Avg $/sqft | DOM | Sold In Sept | Avg Sold Price | Months Inventory | |
|
New Construction, Single Family (2006 or later) |
30 | $177.05 | 184 | 2 | $603,000 | 15 |
| New Construction Resales (after 1975) | 27 | $178.77 | 123 | 6 | $599,815 | 4.5 |
| Older Single Family (Pre 1975) | 125 | $182.94 | 147 | 11 | $305,354 | 11.4 |
| Condo/Townhome | 40 | $197.68 | 226 | 3 | $115,833 | 13.3 |
| MultiFamily | 14 | NA | 159 | 0 | NA | NA |
| Lots / Teardowns | 21 | $25.32 | 244 | 1 | $215,000 | 21 |
The Typical Home*
| Oct-06 | Oct-07 | Oct-08 | |
| M-Streets Tudor, 1800sqft, updated | $393,000 | $331,200 | $432,000 |
| New Construction, 3600sqft | $655,300 | $715,000 | $699,000 |
*NOTE: These typical home values are based on a rolling three month average. With the uniqueness and diversity of the homes in our area, this does not represent a trend, only a snapshot of the market.
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