State of the Market Report for Geauga County as of 4/2008

Welcome to my April 2008 report on the state of the real estate market for Geauga County. Please feel free to refer to last month's posting to watch for changes.

As a service to all potential buyers and sellers, I would be happy to provide you with statistics on your county, your town, your price range, etc. so you can get a clear picture of how many homes are selling and how long they take to sell. To give you an overall picture of Geauga County as a whole, I've included a few statistics for your review!

The current trend (as of April, 2008) is a decrease in the number of homes for sale. In April of 2007 there were 899 homes on the market, of which 59 sold. That means that for the entire inventory of homes on the market at that time to turn over, it would take approximately 15 months, assuming that no new homes came on the market. Compare that to April of 2008 which had 793 homes on the market, of which 45 sold. That represents an average of about 18 months for the inventory to completely turnover. Those figures look really scary, but check out the next statistic - it will look far less frightening! In April of 2007, for those homes that did sell, they were on the market an average of only 106 days. For those homes that sold in April of 2008, the average days on market were 96, representing a decrease of 10 days from one year to the next. Still, even at 96 days, it's a far cry from 18 months! Refer to the chart below for a visual representation:

What does this mean if you're thinking of selling? It's simple! Price your home at or below market value, make sure your home shows beautifully and choose a realtor (like me!) that knows how to market your home to the widest audience possible! If you have all three of these, there is no reason you shouldn't end up with a nice big "SOLD" sign in your yard, but miss any one of them and you'll be sitting around waiting...

The media has not been helping the real estate market as they never seem to talk about the positives, which are great interest rates for buyers and a wide selection of homes. Even if you have to take a hit on the value of the home you are selling, you will likely make up for it on the home you are buying. If the market was the opposite, you might be making money on the sale, but have to pay more when you went to buy. As they say, you can't have your cake and eat it, too!

Something else to consider is that less homes are on the market during winter and more are on the market during spring and summer months. When you look at the statistics over time, it always looks like a wave, rising and falling as the seasons go by.

If you would like to receive a free copy of a market report, please contact me. I'd be happy to help! If you'd like to learn more about what it takes to sell in a correcting or down market, let me know! My team specializes in home staging and aggressive marketing. We would love to sit down and talk about your situation any time!

Please feel free to visit any of our 5 websites to learn more!