By Jeff Ross
Realty Executives of Flagstaff
February 2017

As you will see with the attached, Home Sales for the month of January started on the slow side with  a -7.4% drop in the number of homes sold. As we have mentioned, this will be all homes, single family, townhomes, condos and manufactured homes.
Home prices climbed slightly, with the Average rising 2.16%, and Median rising 4.35%.

For Single Family Homes

We sold -18% fewer homes in January compared to January 2016, Average prices climbed to $419,654 compared to the prior year of $415,527. Median prices rose 12% to $375,000.

What is Median Price?

Definition. Median means "in the middle". So, with regard to SOLD Price, this means exactly half of homes sold are above this price and exactly half are below.

 

The WHY?

Inventory,

When you look at homes priced up to $299,999, we sold -14% fewer homes, and have -28% fewer homes on the market.
Homes priced from $299,999 to $499,999, we sold -3.6% fewer homes, but our inventory is up 33%.
Though we had more, we sold less, more than likely the buyers are not seeing the value when some of those homes moved from under $300k, to over $300k.

Then look at the slightly higher priced homes, from $500k to $700k, we have 18% more homes on the market, we sold more at 7 homes, but our inventory is showing we have over a 9-month supply on hand, which is the Absorption Rate, the number of months it would take to sell all the homes.
As you move higher, those Absorption Rates Climb as high as 23.5 month’s supply.
These are compared to those under $300k with less than a 3-month supply on hand.

The experts in the field feel a 6-month supply is a even Buyer’s/Seller’s Market.
As it sites today, under about $450,000 is a seller’s market, and anything above that price point is certainly a buyer’s market.

SUMMARY

We are so early in the year, the only trend we can see, which was trending from last year. We are in a STRONG SELLERS’S MARKET for homes priced under approximately $450,000 as long priced close to market value. Even though it is winter, selling in this seller’s market today is extremely advantageous.
If you are a buyer, still a good time to be purchasing, but must be on your toes and be able to react once you see the home you like. But with that said, never rush into a purchase if it is not the right home for you and your family.
A Buyer’s first step is always to visit with a lender of their choice, or give me a shout and I can help you find
a very good lender.

As to Market Value, if you have questions, never hesitate giving me a call, I would be happy to run those reports for you.