Tomorrow is April! Holy cow, how did that happen so fast? Anyway, this is my favorite time of the month – statistics time! Knowing the market is very important in my business, and I love to pass that knowledge along. So here is what happened in February 2019 versus 2018.
We’ll start with single family detached homes. In February of 2018 there were 28 units sold with an average of 138 days on the market. They had an average sales price of $241,983 and a median of $244,950. Let’s compare that to this year.
This past February the number of units sold increased by 64.3% to 46 and the days on market decreased by 15% to 120. The average sales price increased 15.8% to $280,154 and the median at $244,525 had practically no change at all. Remember last month I mentioned the government shutdown was most likely skewing the January numbers. That is illustrated in the considerably higher number of units sold over last year, releasing the glut being postponed in January, and the over $70,000 drop in average sales price from last month. If you recall I mentioned this would probably be the case because many government-backed loans are in a lower price point.
Now for residential attached homes, that is town houses and condos. In February of 2018 there were 14 units sold with an average of 104 days on market. They sold for an average price of $166,664 and a median of $173,750. Looking to last month our number of units went up to 19 which is a 35.7% increase, but the days on market also increased by 69.2% to 176. As for the average sold price that increased by 35.2% to $225,342 (wowzers!) and the median went up 17.6% to $204,000. We are seeing a similar correction here but not quite as drastic. As for the jump in price? That’s the perfect illustration of why buying is usually a far better scenario over renting, whether for yourself or your college student.
Okay, so that’s the past which is all well and good, but what’s happening now? As of the date I wrote this (March 25th) there have been 73 single family homes listed this month and 21 are already under contract! Looking at townhouses and condos those numbers are 31 and 8 respectively. What does that mean? Spring has sprung, buyers are ready, and inventory is low! If you haven’t listed yet, you may want to step up the pace. If you’re still on the fence about buying, the rates are staying low with the fed freezing them for the remainder of the year so why wait? The weather is turning and that means not just daffodils are popping up but sold signs will be, too! Wouldn’t it be nice to have one in YOUR yard?
I hope you had a marvelous March and are looking forward to an amazing April! If there are any topics or questions you’d like me to address in the coming weeks please don’t hesitate to let me know. Until next time….
Melissa Berube, 2019 MBOR President
