Rapid City, SD

Yeah - it takes some people longer than others...

I've been keeping a running tally on the number of homes that have sold in Rapid City and surrounding communities (Black Hawk, Box Elder, Rapid Valley, Nemo Road, Piedmont Valley) to not only get an idea of how homes have been selling, but also to see what price points have been hottest. As you can see from the graphs, homes in the $125,000 to 175,000 have been the best sellers each month - confirming in my mind the benefit of the first time homebuyers tax credit.

Also interesting to note that after the tax credit got extended in November, buyer urgency went away, "after the Holidays" became the motto of choice, and real estate sales went down. (yes, typical for December, but it just seemed a really slow month! :)

Fortunately, activity has been good, up here in the Black Hills of South Dakota. May it continue! The sun has been shining, the REALLY cold temperatures went away (for now)...it's a good life.

Cheerio!

- Tristan

Tristan Emond
Prudential Kahler REALTORS
www.rapidhomesonline.com

I've been keeping track of past sales in my market area for years, and here's an idea of what we've been through. Hopefully business will pick up this year!

The results are in. Rapid City did experience a slow down in home sales as the rest of the country did, but we were fortunate enough to be able to remain relatively stable and move right along.

The following graphs show the relationship in different marketing aspects over the past few years.

The breakdown in my eyes...we see the number of homes available remain somewhat stable. But the number of sold homes in 2009 is down 7% from 2008 and 22% from 2007. However, the average sold price doesn't seem to be taking that much of a beating. The average sold prices are down only 6% from 2007 and 2% from 2008. And the days on market for these solds remains pretty steady. So less business for us realtor peoples, but a market hanging on to its own.

Looking forward to a busy 2010. I'm working with a number of buyers looking to buy before the April 30 tax credit timeline.

Now's a great time to list! I see more buyer activity out there (now that those Holidays are over). Get it on the market before it gets too close to April!

Happy January!

Oh - and go Vikings! :)

- Tristan

Tristan Emond
Prudential Kahler REALTORS
www.rapidhomesonline.com

For several years I have been doing this analysis on a weekly basis to determine market conditions. My full report has more details on it. It is really helpful to determine what price ranges buyers are looking at. I also compare activity for this year with the past several years. If you would like to see a copy of the complete report, or would like for me to help explain how to read this info, just send me a note. I'd be happy to help!

For several years I have been doing this analysis on a weekly basis to determine market conditions. My full report has more details on it. It is really helpful to determine what price ranges buyers are looking at. I also compare activity for this year with the past several years. If you would like to see a copy of the complete report, or would like for me to help explain how to read this info, just send me a note. I'd be happy to help!