June Unit Sales

June's results are disappointing. May was showing a positive increase in the number of units sold. June saw a decrease from 128 to 123 units. I don't know if I would call a decrease in the number of listings a positive but I do think it is a positive for the overall market. Having too much supply disappoints sellers and I don't think it makes for a healthy market.

Why the reduction in listings? I would speculate that many sellers have been watching media reports about the real estate market and are choosing not to participate.

The Days on Market report shows some improvement over May. The average on water sale is up over $100,000 over May as some more expensive homes have finally moved. The number of listings has increased from 19 to 28. Not great but it is a step in the right direction.

There remains the large gap between the average list and the average sell. Many sellers have to be educated that if they want to sell, they have to price their home at market value.

Days On Market Report

Active Listings

On Water Off Water

Avg. DOM 165 193

Avg. List $529,768 $188,350

# of Listings 834 844

Sold Listings

On Water Off Water

Avg. DOM 179 176

Avg. List $471,660 $149,062

Avg. Sell $439,228 $139,193

Sell/List % 93.1% 93.3%

# of Listings Sold 28 49

Considering that we have $4+ / gallon gasoline, 6.5% interest rates, widespread flooding in our prime target buyer area and a fragile economy, we are not doing that bad. If anyone would have predicted these things, I'm certain that they would have predicted a much worse real estate market than we are experiencing.

I remain optimistic. I still am receiving calls and emails from interested buyers. They certainly (and understandably) are being more tentative. I'm also beginning to receive calls from what I call contrarians. They believe the market will improve in the long run and now is the time to buy. I wholeheartedly agree.