2014 is officially in the books! How is the local real estate environment doing? Let’s take a look at the end of the last two quarters. When comparing the end of the third quarter market statistics to the end of the fourth quarter of 2014 one might slightly gasp. An initial glance sees lower numbers trending toward the end of the year. Is the market in decline?
In this case, first impressions may be deceiving. There were a total of 679 listings on the market at the end of September 2014 and only 466 listings at the end of December 2014. But let’s take a deeper look at the numbers.
While there were indeed fewer listings on the market at the end of the year, the numbers actually support a great marketplace. New listings entering the marketplace were lower, but that will go hand in hand with fewer total listings. And comparatively listings still moved in to pending status at a nice consistent pace in relation to the number of active listings available.
Reduced listings look like they had the largest drop, but that is a good thing! That means that fewer listings required pricing adjustments. 30 percent of active listings saw a reduction in price in September 2014 compared to only 10 percent in December 2014.
Considering that the total sold listings were pretty comparable at the end of both quarters, 182 listings sold and 169 listings sold respectively at the end of the third and fourth quarters, the number of price reduced listings point to a current market that is really well priced. Listings are selling at the same pace with much fewer price reductions.
Another feather in the cap of the fourth quarter is that the average sale price to list price went up. Listings are selling at 99 percent of the asking price (with the $425,100-$525,000 price range seeing an impressive 100 percent!)
So statistically speaking, our local market is vibrant and strong. Listings continue to enter the market and sell with few price adjustments. Sellers are offering listings that are attracting buyers.
This is a great place to end 2014. And 2015 shows signs of staying on the same track! That is great news for our area.
Duke Warner Realty was established in 1967 by Duke and Kitty Warner. Their philosophy was to establish a first-rate real estate company sensitive to their customers’ needs. Duke Warner Realty’s brokers share this philosophy, and today the firm is widely-known for its personalized service and reliability. For more information, contact www.dukewarner.com (541) 382-8262
