December Sales Report (2008)

2008 is now all set and done as far as tracking real estate related data on this blog, and the year was a stinker. I've now collected data for four years and 2008 is the worst in terms of unit sales and total dollar volume. That won't surprise anyone that has been following along. The only mild surprise is the median sales price fell to below the $100,000 level in December (and lower than any month in 2004).

I'll post the year end wrap up later next week and I also plan to break down sales figures for both bank owned (foreclosed sales) and traditional (human sellers) sales for 2008.

In the meantime... 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 and sales in units chart:

I do find it interesting that the last four months of new listings and sales figures have ebbed and flowed practically in unison. I have no explanation for this and only wish to see the blue line come down and the red line go up in the next year (as always).

Average listings and sales averages chart:


Lowest average sales price figure since April of 2004, and I've only kept listing average price since 2006 so the December figure is the lowest asking average... but it is still obviously way off the market price. Average sales prices are trending down at a faster rate than are asking prices. At some point sellers AND Realtors need to grasp reality.

If not for one closed transaction of $430,000 last month, the average price would have come in under $120,000.

2005 through 2008 unit sales chart:

Don't let the number '40' fool you, once again over half the sales in December were of the foreclosure variety (more on that in a bit). Easily the worst year for sales for traditional sellers.

2005 through 2008 average price chart:

I guess I'll be adjusting the scale on the axis for this chart next year.

The average price of closed sales fell 31.6% compared to sales recorded in December of 2007 (and just under 40% from the same month in 2005).

2005 through 2008 median price chart:

Take a real good look at this chart and keep in mind that half the sales last month were had for less than the amount shown.

The median sales price for closed transactions is off by 40.6% as compared to December of 2007.

The price range of sales for December 2008 is $42,000 through $430,000.

Average SFR statistics:

The average home sold in December had 3.15 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a 1.73 car garage, included 1,447 square feet of living space, and was built in 1987. The average hold sold for an average of $87 per square foot of living space.

It took an average of 71 days of marketing to attract a buyer to come to an agreement and a total of 104 days from the first day of marketing to the close of escrow.

Sellers reduced price on average $16,877 to attract a buyer on average from the first day of marketing, and conceded and average of another $8,493 to the buyer in the transaction. The total average price concession for the homes sold in November was $25,370 (16.76% total reduction).

Bonus Charts:



Foreclosure Impact:

In terms of units sold, of the 40 sales reported for December -- 23 were listed as foreclosed on (57.5% of units sold).

The price range of foreclosed units sold for December was from $42,000 up to $290,000.

The average price of foreclosed units sold for December was $113,759 (9.7% lower than the overall November figure).

The median price of foreclosed units sold for December was $95,000.

The average foreclosure home sold in December had 3.3 bedrooms, 2.1 bathrooms, a 1.6 car garage, included 1,483 square feet of living space, and was built in 1993. The average home sold for $76 per square foot of living space. Owners of foreclosed on homes conceded 16.7% off the initial offering price.

Conclusions:

The conclusion this month is thank goodness that year is over. Besides that, sales prices are sliding down a steep slope and sellers will need to keep up. Actually sellers need to get ahead while they can most likely. Is there any bit of news right now that says the trends reverse course anytime soon, especially here in Kingman Arizona?? That is the only reality check you need.

One other thing to keep an eye on is the spread between the average sales price overall vs. the foreclosure sales price was in the single digits in December after being nearly 20% the three previous months. Banks are definitely selling property with some success and perhaps they are finding a bottom. I'll watch that in the coming months.