Flurries Just Aren’t for Snow
While real estate sales slow this time of year for this region, this firm continues to stay very active and enjoys the flurry of activities.
Some feel that winter is very slow in real estate. Thus, many may remove their homes from the MLS to reduce DOM (Days on Market). However, it’s been this brokers observation that Real Estate sales occur year round. Already in Dec. this broker has no less than 3 active contracts on properties and other offers being written, not taking into account what the firm is doing overall. Yes, sales may taper off, but real estate is still moving.
Single Family Home Sales Statistics
Land Sales Statistics
Overall Market View
November 2016 Statistics for the HCBOR:
RECENT HOME SALES:
Total homes listed in Highlands/Cashiers MLS: 1205 While some Sellers may take their homes off the market, they need to keep in mind that homes sale every month of the year
Homes Sold This Month: 63 Although this is a significant drop, it is the highest number in unit sales for the month of November for the 3rd year in a row.
Average Unit Sales per Month/1 Year Average: 48 While this is not a high number of sales for the entire area, it has shown the market to be somewhat stable.
Inventory: 25 months – We have been seeing a small, but steady decline in inventory. However, some of this is due to more homes coming off market. Still, a decline in inventory is a positive sign.
Average DOM: 367 Any seller should expect their home will be on the market for some time.
Average DOM (YOY): 456 – This is seeing a drop. It seems that many Sellers have seen that 2006 & 2007 pricing is not going to return any time soon. Some pricing is getting more “reasonable” as to what the market will bear.
Median Sales Price: $412,500 For most of the summer months, we have seen the Median to be above $300,000. This is a strong indicator that buyers are beginning to spend a little more on housing in this area. This does not mean they are willing to pay higher prices, but our market for higher priced homes may be returning.
Average List/Sell Ratio: 89.68% – Buyers are not willing to pay full price for what homes are listed. More reasonable pricing may encourage more offers on current listings. Sellers need to strongly consider their pricing.
Synopsis: There’s a difference between being “on the market” and “in the market.” Sellers that are priced well should see more activity. If there is little to no activity in your home listing, most likely it has to do with pricing. Buyers are active.
RECENT LAND SALES
Land Units Sold: 18- This matched land sales in 2015. Land sales have remained lower than 2014 sales for November. Overall land sales have seen no real improvements.
Total listed in all MLS: 1168 Very large inventory in comparison with sales.
Inventory: 64 months. Using YOY data, this is over 5 years worth of inventory. Land owners should not expect there will be a sale on their land unless they have phenomenal pricing.
Synopsis: Land is not moving well. Little demand and huge inventory keeps prices very low.
Overall Market View:
- 37% of home sales ranged from $200,000 to $499,999.
- 21% of home sales ranged from $500,000 – $749,999.
- 10% of home sales ranged from $750,000 – $1,000,000.
- 17% of sales were above $1,000,000.
There has been an increase in the Median price range. The percentage of home sales for higher priced homes has increased overall. Such increases have not been experienced in some time. However, the YOY data shows the overall market inline with 2015. Here again, 2016 started off fairly slow. The recent upswing has brought us back to status-quo. Still, there is a positive “feel” among many brokers. Whether this will continue or not remains to be seen.
DID YOU ENJOY THIS REPORT? Please let me know what other information you would like to see by entering it into the comments section at the bottom of this page. Your input is valuable and I will try to include your suggestions in next months blog.
If you’re considering listing your home for sale or purchasing a home in NC, please feel free to contact a local agent or REALTOR®. They will make a specific report for your area of our MLS (Sapphire, Norton, Glenville, Highlands, Toxaway, Clear Creek, Breedlove, Franklin, etc). You can then make an informed decision on how to sell or buy your home.
