The Real Estate Market in December had a strong finish to the
year, and took quite an interesting turn in certain aspects.
Total sales for the month of December were up sharply over the month of November, with 1,116(+140) homes sold, more than November with 976. That figure is lower,
however, than December of the previous year, with 1,143 homes sold.
An interesting trend is that
usually the most active category for most months is the $200,000-249,000 range, but for Dec ’17 and ’16, the most active category was the $250,000-299,000, which saw 220(+33) sales for December of 17 as compared to November with 187. The same category for December 2016 hosted a higher amount, at 230. Second most active was the aforementioned 200-249k range, with 201(+9) sales compared to November with 192. December 2016 saw a higher amount as well, with 207 homes sold in this price range.
Here’s where it gets interesting. While lower and mid-priced homes saw a decrease in total numbers sold while looking at the same month last year, luxury homes saw an increase. A large one. Total sales of homes over $1 million rose from 27 in November to 42(+15) in December. Compared to December of 2016 shows an even larger increase, as million-dollar homes in Dec ’16 only saw 22 sales. Continuing the staggering increase, sales of homes over $700,000 rose from 58 in November to 94(+36) in December, and if you compare that to December of 2016, its almost double, as December of 2016 saw 49 homes over $700k sold.
Of all homes sold, 593, or 53% sold within 30 days. 176, or 16% of homes sold within 31-60 days, and 111, or 10% sold within 61-90.
Sales financed with conventional financing
as usual represented the vast majority of the sales, with 563, or 50%, while FHA financed homes were 15%, with 165 sales. Homes purchased with cash were 22% of all sales, with 250 and VA financing provided 57, 5% of the market.
These numbers are indeed quite fascinating, but what do they really mean? It will be interesting to see if these numbers represent a 1-month surge in a segment of the market, this time
being the luxury, high priced, side, or if this will be a new norm. Only time will tell.
Homes are still selling as fast as ever before. 53% of homes sold within 30 days. That means the market is still strong, and competition is still high, meaning sellers are in prime position to get top dollar for their homes.
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Buyers are still in good
position, but need to be ready to act quickly on homes. They need to be ready with a preapproval, and money in place, ready to send in for escrow, as competition is still very stiff.
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