Reality Check
May trends indicate a real estate market that continues to be strong and healthy…with some fascinating twists and turns. With Summer Break upon us, we expect things to become even more interesting! Let’s take a look at May’s statistics and see if any trends emerge.
In this market, if a property is priced right, it will likely sell, and sell quickly! If a property is not selling, then it is probably over-priced. We are seeing the greatest amount of inventory reduction in our most active portion of the market—$225,00-$325,000—in May, 131 properties were pending but only 104 came on the market. This price range also had high average days on market (DOM), at 113 days. Our interpretation of this data is that sellers are holding out, attempting to get the highest possible selling price for their properties.
At the same time, the data shows a spike in price reductions about two months earlier than we have observed in the last two years. The longer a property sits on the market (increased DOM), the more likely the owner will reduce the price. The total number of homes reducing selling price, across all portions of the market, increased from 79 in April to 138 in May—that’s a significant jump.
The overall number of active properties on the market increased by nearly 10 percent over a month’s time. Considering that there was a slight drop between February and March, followed by a 5 percent increase between March and April, it will be interesting to see how this number changes between June and July.
The number of new homes on the market increased between February and April, but dropped by about 9 percent between April and May. The number of homes sold has been increasing, with about a 17 percent increase between April and May, with nearly a 100 percent sales-to-listing price ratio. The number of pending properties has increased steadily since February with a combined 48 percent increase between February and June. The average days on market (DOM) has been decreasing as the year progresses.
It is a dynamic and fast-paced real estate market here in Central Oregon. We are seeing increased price reductions as sellers are seeing the realities of what the market will bear. It continues to be a sellers’ market, but with the price reductions we are seeing, sellers may well need to adjust their home listings to fair market price. Keep your eyes open and on Duke Warner’s real estate stats reports. Summer is going to be very interesting!
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
(Photo above: Courtesy of Intrepid Marketing)
