The bad news (if you're a seller): there's a glut of overpriced housing for sale here. The good news (if you're a potential buyer): it's turning into a buyer's market.
Have you noticed how many houses have "for sale" signs on them? It is true the numbers are up. Also noted by this reporter: the house advertised at $250,000, that later appears in the "Good Deeds" section of the Citizen reporting a sales price of $189,000. Are local homeowners holding a "twenty-five percent off" sale?
While people eager to sell are commonly waiting six long months— or more— to see earnest money, buyers have been able to shop around and capture properties often far below the "asking" price.
The Multiple Listing Service statistics tell the tale, according to Hal O'Boyle of Sally O'Boyle Realty. He told KWTN that as of Jan. 29, there were 1186 residential units on the market in Monroe County—an increase of about 565 units since January 2000.
However, "The lower priced homes are still appreciating dramatically," he said. "The median price for larger homes has declined year over year, and total units sold is down, no matter how you look at it.
"Overall it looks like this: last year total units sold in January was 127 at a median price of $317,000. This year, the total is 100 at a median price of $330,000. Overall median price has gone up 4 percent, and the number of units sold is down 21 percent," O'Boyle said.
Oddly, sales of smaller houses (zero to two bedrooms) are down about 35 percent (26 sold through January 29, versus 43 sold last year) but their median sale price is UP 20 percent—from $200,000 last year to $239,000 this year.
Condos are still strong. This January, 30 condos sold for a median of $272,000, reports O'Boyle. Last year, 24 sold at a median price of $225,000. That's 25 percent more units sold, with a price increase of 21 percent, he says.
On the other end of the market, four-bedroom houses have declined over the past year from a median sale price of $655,000 down to $600,000. Three-bedroom homes showed a 16 percent price decline, from $357,000 median price last year to $307,000 this year.
"There is another stat that may be of some interest, although I don't know how useful it is," he said. "That is, the median asking price as opposed to median selling price. At this time last year, there were 444 residential properties on the market at a median asking price of $406,000. This year there are 934 on the market at a median asking price of $489,000.
"The number of units is up 210 percent and the asking price is up 20 percent. Obviously, all these units cannot have appreciated 20 percent during the last year."
He said people will negotiate with a seller if the asking price is within 10 percent of what they consider fair market value. If the asking price is 15, 20, or 25 percent higher than what they consider fair market, the average buyer won't even make an offer. Maybe they should.
Last year, O'Boyle says, "the gap between median selling price and the average condo/residential median asking price was about seven percent. This year it's 19 percent."
O'Boyle is a firm believer in the free market. He says that the fastest way to find fair market value is to offer the property up for public auction. Under the system he uses, homeowners can look forward to finalizing a sale on a chosen date—but are not forced to sell, if the highest price offered falls too far below their expectations. Even if they choose not to sell, "at least they get a realistic picture of what the current market will bear," O'Boyle said.