Monday, December 01, 2008

November Listings Report (2008)

After a glorious holiday weekend spent with my Kingman family, after the tryptophan has worn off, after the surprising play of the Philadelphia Eagles on Thanksgiving night, it is time for the Listings Report here at MOCO Real.

Without further delay... the disclaimer...

Disclaimer... all data compiled for this report comes from the WARDEX Data Exchange and does not include any sales activity from outside that resource. All research is done only on single family homes and there is no inclusion of modular homes, commercial properties, or vacant land. The geographical area researched includes; all areas within the boundaries of the city of Kingman, north Kingman, the Hualapai Mountain area, and the Valle Vista subdivisions. Click here to see maps of the included area's.

Listings:

As of December 1, total listings available for single family residence equals 569 (down from 592 on November1). The total number of units that are listed as 'foreclosure' listings is 92. The rate of new listings taken per day in November was 2.8. Compared to last years total listings available on the market are down by 19.6%.

There were 84 new listings taken in November (down as compared to 100 in October). The total number of units listed as 'foreclosure' listings for November was 30. The average asking price for the new listings is $185,483 (down from last months $201,437). The median asking price is $129,000 (down from $151,900 previously). Newly listed units are down 16 units from last year and the average initial offering price dropped 22.6% as compared to November of 2007.

The average newly listed home in November has 3.08 bedrooms, 2.1 baths, a 2 car garage, with 1,650 square feet of living space and was built in 1992. The average asking price per square foot of living space is $112. Lastly, 11 of the new listings were actually re-listed either by the same or different broker. 4 units listed last month are already under contract and of those none had closed in November.

The original price of new listings last month was from $44,000 through $675,000.

Units under contract:

As of December 1 there are 62 total units under contract (down compared to the number of 75 last month). Of these, 29 were listed as 'foreclosure' sales.

38 units entered into contracts in the month of November (off from the 47 the previous month). Of these, 21 units were listed as 'foreclosure' sales. The average asking price for homes that received contracts was $130,848 (down from $164,844 last month) and the median asking price for November was $114,900 (down from the previous months $134,200 figure). Units entering contract are actually up from November of 2007 by 8 units and the average marketing price is down 33.5%.

The average home that went under contract in November has 3.1 bedrooms, 2 baths, a 1.77 car garage, with 1,468 square feet of living space, and was built in 1990. The average asking price per square foot of living space for listings that entered contract in November was $89. It was also priced $19,742 higher when it first was listed as compared to its current asking price (the average price reduction was $14,753 last month). The average marketing time to reach a contract was 99 days (from 125 last month).

The advertised price of units that entered contract was from $49,900 through $451,000.

Conclusions:

I typed the word down many times in comparison to last month and even last year in this report, but not all of those figures are down-ers... if you are a buyer. A couple of highlights to review...

The inventory number (listings available) has dropped a touch under 20% since last year at this time. Still... inventory is high, too high, but hopefully on the right road to recovery (the road is long though I must warn).

New listing average price is also down over 20% since last year. That means that sellers are entering the market more aggressively, like they should, but might still have some more to go. The good news here is that sellers are at least responding to the market. I'm certain that foreclosed listings have a large part to do with that.

More listings took a contract than the year before, even in this down year... which simply points to a more acceptable price for buyers.

Sellers continue to offer price incentives (discounts) in order to attract buyers. The average home that took a contract last month discounted nearly $20 grand from the time they entered market to the time they accepted a contract. The market is working.

We are in what is traditionally the slowest part of the year for sales. November, December, January, and into February we won't see record breaking production but hopefully we will see similar production as last year at these times. Perhaps establishing a bottom. Stay tuned for those results.

Foreclosures will continue to put pressure on prices as there were more of those listings available than in previous months. If you are selling, do the best you can by improving the condition of your home and price it accordingly as a premium offering. Condition, marketability, location, and of course fair market price will be your friend on your quest to sell.

Buyers... hey, I know you're out there... I don't know what to tell you in certain terms. If you are able to obtain an advantageous financing product and prospective homes are in the affordable range for you, then it may just be a great time to buy... for you. Only you can answer that. I simply do not know what will be available heading into next year with a new federal government taking control. I will do my best to bring you the latest information as it reveals itself.

I have my fingers crossed that next year will improve in terms of units sold, but I'm not placing any bets (especially on the Philly Eagles).

See you next month!!

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