There are many indicators that are tell tale signs of whether the market is improving, days on the market, average sales price, sales to list price ratio and housing inventory levels.  Housing inventory levels I believe are a key indicator.  So how do you know whether the housing inventory is normal in your geographic area?  The National Association of Realtors (NAR) indicates that normal inventory levels are 3.6% of the total markets occupied housing units.  In the Palmer Wasilla area of Alaska there are 21,015 single family occupied housing units.  Using NAR’s indicator of 3.6% a normal inventory level in our area would be 756 homes for sale.  As of October 29, 2008 there are 1803 homes on the market for sale.  That means we have a ways to go yet before our market is back to normal.  But as I have indicated before, there are some price ranges within our market that have normal inventories already.  So don’t let the overall number mislead you.  If your home is valued at less than $245,000 there is good news.  Almost all of the price ranges below $245,000 show a very normal housing market.  If you have questions about your home, contact me at Kristan@KristanCole.com or call me at 907-373-3575

The end of the 3^rd quarter of the year has come and gone.  How is our residential real estate market fairing?  Here are the statistics:

                                                2007                2008        % change

Number of sales                       1180                962                -18%

Ave. Sales Price                       $222,479         $221,993         -0%

Median Sales Price                   $210,113         $206,000         -1%

New Listings                            1310                1511              +24% 

New Pending Sales                   1224                1002             -18%  

Days on Market                         77                    84                 +9%

When you compare the 3^rd quarter year to date numbers, to the 2^nd quarter numbers (see my July 13 post), you see improvement.  The number of days on the market is fewer, the negative numbers for homes sales, pending sales and new listings are all better.  So what does this mean?  It means that while the year to date numbers are still negative compared to 2007, the 3^rd quarter shows the market is getting better.  There are several price ranges where we have a very normal market.  See the attached absorption report.  A normal market is where the number of months of supply in a particular price range is less than 6 months.  We have a normal market up to $250,000.

Conversely, we still have a lot of inventory for homes priced over $250,000.  That’s where the congestion is.  This graph shows the number of new listings (green line) in the last 2 years compared to the sales and pending sales (dark green and blue lines).  As I have said before, these sellers are in a pricing war and a beauty contest at the same time.  Sellers need their homes to be in the best condition and at the same time have the best price if they expect to sell.  Cleanliness is number one.  Nothing is more important; it must be clean and smell clean.  I also recommend sellers have their home staged by a professional.  You only get one chance to impress the buyer, make sure your home is presented in the best light.  Also the price of your home can't just be good, it must be compelling.

If you need to sell your home this year, make sure you find a professional to help you.  Approach selling your home in the same manner you would if you were looking for a doctor to perform surgery on you or a family member; do some research and pursue the best expert in the field who can demonstrate great outcomes and great results!  Contact me at Kristan@KristanCole.com if you have specific questions.  Kristan