There were 123 listings available in the valley at the end of June; 23 were new listings. There were 9 pending sales in June – double the number in June of 2009. 3 sales were closed in June at an average price of $260,300. Year-to-date through June there were 128 new listings, 32 pending sales, with 26 sales actually closed. Year over year the average sales price in the valley has dropped 34%. There have been 2 land sales this year, averaging $122,000.
There is a lot of inventory available to buyers, and list prices have dropped – but sales prices have dropped further. There are several reasons for the drop in average sold price: 1) buyers are shopping for lower priced bargains; 2) offer prices are generally considerably lower than list prices; 3) appraisals. Few properties over $300K are selling, unlike the previous 3-5 years in the valley. Buyers generally haven’t been willing to gamble on the higher priced properties, and sellers haven’t lowered their prices enough to attract available buyers – or in many cases, to a realistic appraisal value in this market.
For the patient buyer, bargains are available. Just one example: a custom riverfront home that listed for $899K two years ago sold for $650K this year.
The lack of land sales for the last 2 years points directly to a lack of confidence in the U.S. economic recovery. For anyone thinking about buying land to build in the future, this is a great time to acquire land that will appreciate when the market does recover.
Bargain hunters with cash, keep your eyes open – there are great deals out there, but they don’t last! Sellers, realistic prices are essential if you want to sell your home this year!
