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The first five stats and charts on the right side of the home page are now up to date, while First Quarter Sales is also current thru 2013. All things equal, sales moved up slightly in the lower price ranges and fell off a bit in the upper ranges.
In some other markets, such as Denver, there is a plea for more inventory and more new homes to be built to take care of current demand. I am having difficulty seeing where we are running out of inventory except in the lowest price ranges. We still have a substantial number of homes for sale above $500K and above $1 Million; certainly no shortage there.
Why did our numbers fall back in average length of time on the market? Many hopeful home sellers chose to delay their efforts until the market improved, such as it has lately, resulting in increased inventory. Will this keep us from seeing a real recovery in Santa Fe, NM residential real estate? It all depends on how much additional inventory comes online in the next 3 months.
If we arrive in mid June with a steep increase in new listings, we may witness a fairly flat year in terms of overall balance in our market. Our demand for housing has gone steadily up, but it will struggle to keep pace if those formerly unsuccessful sellers re-enter the market all at once. See my “Inventory Creep” post from last month.
Meanwhile, many homes are selling; the best ones first, those priced right that show well. Then the next layer of homes gets careful scrutiny and some of those sell also. What does not sell is the overpriced (buyers are more savvy now than ever) and messy home with a goofy floor plan and deferred maintenance. Look for those to still be around this fall and winter.
If your hopes are high or low, your expectations reasonable or lofty, get with me sooner rather than later so we can devise a plan to get you into the sold column this year. And if you are a buyer, ask me about my satisfied customers and recent success stories. Email is always a good way to reach me – alanball2@gmail.com – while a phone call is answered or returned very quickly. Alan Ball, Realtor
