Spotsylvania County Market Report – 12/12/11

Tis the season to be jolly!  This won’t be the jolliest market report but I can assure you that November’s statistics will be far better than October’s were.

For some reason October was a very slow month.  New listings were very minimal, new pending sales were up but closed sales and pretty much every other stat were down.  The phone wasn’t ringing as much and both Buyers and Sellers seemed to be sitting on the fence.

November was almost completely opposite where there were new listings, many more new sales and the market really started looking better!  That momentum has carried into December and will hopefully continue into the New Year!  So with that being said, take these numbers with a grain of salt. They are what they are and the next couple reports will look much better!

New listings are such an integral part of our market.  We really need those great, new listings to go on the market so all of the Buyers out there have something to buy!  When you see listings down like this it causes some Buyers just to wait and sit on the fence until just the right house comes on the market.  In many instances, they have already seen everything out there in their price range and haven’t found just the right one.  Some of the inventory becomes stale and those listings end up selling for less as they have been on the market for much longer.

Watch for the next couple of market reports!  Months like October just happen sometimes for no rhyme or reason. The good news is, despite the holidays, we are in the midst of a very busy end of the year and that is a good thing for both Buyers and Sellers!  Happy Holidays!

Commentary and market stats provided by Amy Cherry-Taylor, Business Manager, Stafford Regional Office.

Search for Home in Spotsylvania County: www.averyhess.com

Spotsylvania County Market Report – 10/12/11

Rain, rain go away, come again another day!  Boy has this last month been rainy!  I don’t ever remember a fall quite like this one!  I am hoping that the weather has had something to do with our statistics because the numbers are a bit dreary too!

Our new listings have decreased since this time last year.  This is such an amazing fact considering that our interest rates have been hovering at a historical low and that there are still so many Buyers out there!  Our supply and demand is not going to change, and the fact that we are in a Buyers’ market is not going to change, until new inventory starts to saturate our market.  This number in Spotsylvania and the surrounding counties shows that we really do need to have more listings come on the market!

Our closed sales have not changed but our new pending sales are slightly up compared to this time last year.  Our days on market have decreased (this is a good sign!) and our sold dollar volume has increased.  One of the most interesting parts of this month’s stats is the fact that the sale of attached units have increased (this would be townhomes and condos) and the amount of detached units have very slightly decreased.  This shows the amount of first time homebuyers we have in our market place as well as the desire by many to downsize.

Please read on for more stats:

As we start moving from the fall and heading into the winter, just remember that our market is still busy!  Don’t let the doom and gloom you hear all over the news discourage you!

Real estate is LOCAL and locally we are far better off than many other regions of our great nation.  We have many Buyers in the market place who are just waiting for that right place to come on the market.

We have Sellers who can finally afford to sell and want to take advantage of the numerous Buyers out there.  We have some banks that are more willing to work with Sellers rather than let them foreclose.  We do see some positives in this glass less than half full atmosphere!  Sometimes we just have to look harder to find them!

Commentary and market stats provided by Amy Cherry-Taylor, Business Manager, Stafford Regional Office.

Search for Home in Spotsylvania County: www.averyhess.com

Spotsylvania County Market Report – 8/22/11

We are really at such an interesting time in real estate.  Well, I guess that is one word you can use to describe it!  Our monthly statistics are all over the place.  One month it looks like we are going to head towards a trend and the next month the numbers are all different!

As a region, our inventories are very low.  Spotsylvania has a 24.91% decrease in new listings since this same time last year.  Our market really needs some good new listings (preferably resales by private owners)!  If the inventories continue to trend down, interest rates stay low and the Buyers continue to increase. In turn, we will start to see a more stable market, which will eventually trend towards more of a Buyers’ market.  While this may seem far off, it might be closer than we all anticipate if the above factors remain the same.

While closed sales are up slightly and new pending sales are up, so are days on market and average sales price to average original list price.  See the following chart for a good picture of our current market:

While days on market are up and median sales prices are slightly down, this is a great time to list your home!

In a market like this, if you are priced right, in a good location, can show your home better than the average listing and have a great agent on your side to market your property to the masses, you will be successful!

As I said above, inventories are low and the market likes new participation.  If you are struggling keeping your home, talk to an agent about doing a short sale.  The banks are facilitating short sales at a much better pace than in the past and the success rate for short sales are on the rise.  In many cases, deficiency judgments are being excused and a good, experienced short sale agent will be able to help guide you through the process.

Commentary and market stats provided by Amy Cherry-Taylor, Business Manager, Stafford Regional Office.

Search for Home in Spotsylvania County: www.averyhess.com

Spotsylvania County Market Report – 6/27/11

Summer is here and our market is HOT!  Buyers are out looking for just the right house and houses that are priced at market value, are in good condition and in good locations are selling!

Our May statistics are going to be a little “plastic” in comparison to this same time last year.  As you may recall, we still had the first time homebuyer tax credit last year.  It did make a big difference in our market and even though our market is very strong now, the statistics in most instances are down compared to this same time last year.

Don’t let the numbers throw you off too much because anyone who has participated in this market in the recent past can tell you that if you find the house you want, you need to move on it!  If you have a house to sell, price it right and it will!  Here is the latest:

If you notice, every number was down except for new listings!  I think this shows that some Sellers are now able to enter the market place when maybe they weren’t able to a year or two ago.

While median sales price shows a decrease, Spotsylvania ended 2010 with a slight increase.  While these numbers are interesting to contemplate, don’t put too much emphasis on any of them!  If you start following our monthly trends I do believe you will see the numbers continue to be steady and lean towards the favorable side of things!

Employment rates are above the national average in our area, sales prices are still down and interest rates are still LOW!  Rental prices are increasing and the availability of rental units are decreasing due to the demand.  Homeownership in our area is still a great investment and the opportunity has never been better!

Commentary and market stats provided by Amy Cherry-Taylor, Business Manager, Stafford Regional Office.

Search for Home in Spotsylvania County: www.averyhess.com

Spotsylvania County Market Report – 4/11/11

Happy Spring!  Our regional market is off to a great start this spring!  Buyers are still coming out in droves and houses are selling!

If you are considering putting your house on the market, now is a great time as inventories are still low and the average list price for solds has increased from this same time last year.

Regular sales are very sought after, especially if the house shows well and is in a good location.  Foreclosure opportunities are still out there for buyers but in a much smaller number than the past.

Our local market is very different than the market news you regularly hear on the national media.  The Washington metropolitan area and south were way ahead of the curve as far as market trends are concerned.

Our area felt the huge price reductions and the massive amounts of foreclosures and short sales start a couple of years ago. The news is always talking about falling home prices and the rise of foreclosures in parts of the country, and while prices are still a bit all over the place, our area is different than the nationwide average.

Spotsylvania’s average sold price and average list price for solds have both increased compared to this time last year!  The average sold price for attached homes (townhomes, etc) and the average sold price for detached home has also increased again!  Please read on for our latest stats:

While some of these stats show a slight decrease, new listings are up 13.99% and houses just placed under contract with a contingency are up 64.52%.  That shows what a strong month March was and that pace is so far being matched in April.  Hopefully this market trend will continue and Spotsylvania will continue to see a thriving Spring Market!

Commentary and market stats provided by Amy Cherry-Taylor, Business Manager, Stafford Regional Office.

Search for Home in Spotsylvania County: www.averyhess.com

Spotsylvania County Market Report – 2/4/11

Spotsylvania County’s statistics look a little more lackluster than they actually seemed in the month of December.  The market was really busy during the holidays and houses were getting shown and were selling better than they had earlier in the year.

Spotsylvania’s biggest story is the lack of inventory.  Buyers just don’t have as much to choose from as they once did.  Both new listings and pending sales were down year to date (although they were both up in the month of December compared to last December).  While those numbers were down a little, average days on market significantly decreased.  Houses are not staying on the market as long (especially well priced homes in good condition and in good locations!) causing Buyers to make quicker decisions when they see the house they want!

Don’t let these numbers fool you though!  The reality is our market is BUSY!  You will see this reflected in the upcoming months’ statistics!

Short sales are still making up approximately 50% of Spotsylvania’s active market.  The remaining amount is split between foreclosures (which continue to come on the market, just on a smaller scale than the last two years), regular sales and corporate relocations.  Historically our area has always had a healthy supply of corporate relocation homes.

Unfortunately, corporate relocation has been down significantly over the last year as employees are not able to sell their homes at a profit and take the company relocation.  With prices continuing to rise in Stafford and the northern regions, hopefully this will begin to change.  Please read on for a glimpse at Spotsylvania’s end of 2010 recap:

Spotsylania County

December

Year-To-Date

Commentary and market stats provided by Amy Cherry-Taylor, Business Manager, Stafford Regional Office.

Search for Home in Spotsylvania County: www.averyhess.com