Weekly Observation for January 9, 2010 Springfield Home Sales Up in 2009
January 10th, 2010Does the saying ‘out like a lion, in like a lamb’ apply to just the month of March, or can I apply that to a year? Because that sums up 2009. The year started like a lamb, finished like a lion, and we head into 2010 like a lamb.
You would think with the extended and expanded tax credits, and historically low interest rates the market would be smoking hot to begin the year. Nah, welcome to Springfield Illinois where we just take our time. You don’t have to have a home under contract until April 30 to qualify for the credit, so why the rush?
2009 turned out to be a better year than anyone could have imagined. The following is a year over year comparison to 2008, a year we would all like to forget. These numbers are from The Capital Area Association of Realtors MIS as reported by member brokers. Yesterday was the deadline for reporting, and the official report will be released in about two weeks.
Closed home sales 3714, up by 226 or by 6.47%. A good rebound from a bad year, however 480 closed sales from the peak in 2005, or off by 11.4% from the high. We’re headed in the right direction so we’ll take it.
The median sale price set a new record up 4.95% to $109,100. This is directly attributable to the record low interest rates placing higher priced homes within reach of more families. While sales of homes priced under $100,000 declined slightly by 1.5%, closed sales jumped by 15% on homes priced $100,000 to $200,000, and sales of homes priced over $200,000 were up 10.3%.
Don’t get too excited if you own an upper bracket home. The market hit a wall on homes priced over $500,000 down by 55%. In 2008 36 homes sold for over $500,000 compared to just 16 in 2009. With 28 homes listed over $500,000 today, at the 2009 rate of sales we wouldn’t sell the last one until October of 2011.
The inventory of homes for sale is a bright spot for local home sellers. The 1378 homes listed today compare to 1686 last year, or down by 18.3%. At least I got one prediction right for 2009, forecasting 5200 new listings for the year. There were 5256 which was down from 5935 in 2008, or by 11.44%.
The time it took for home sellers to get a purchase contract took slightly longer in 2009, 84 days compared to 79. The cumulative days on the market was unchanged at 106 days. This is for the homes that sold. Regrettably 1979 listings expired, and 988 withdrew from the market without selling.
Lot’s of folks don’t sell during a listing period and relist with another broker in order to get sold. That’s why the cumulative days on the market provide a better picture for how long it takes to recieve a contract. Two straight years at 106 days from list date to contract date. Add another 30 to 45 days to closing.
This probably is the reason you should reserve a seat at the free Home Seller Seminar on January 21. That is if you want to improve your chances to be able to qualify for the $6,500 repeat home buyer tax credit. You must have a valid purchase contract in force by April 30 to qualify. If you need to sell your home before you can purchase another home the clock is ticking. We’re 111 days to the April 30 deadline. You have until the end of June to close.
Call 391-1811 to reserve a seat, or e-mail fritz@springfieldhome.com.
Make this a great week from Fritz and Kristie Pfister and The Pfister Success Team of RE/MAX Professionals Springfield. Thank you for 10 wonderful years as our team celebrated our tenth anniversary on January 1. Thanks to families like yours choosing our service or referring our service to family and friends, we ended our first ten years as a team, with 185 or 31% more closed home listings than any other team, and in total closed residential transactions by 252, over 25% more closed than anyone. 1234 families successfully served. We are grateful, and humbled by your support. Thank you.
The opinions expressed here are solely those of Fritz Pfister, or identified sources, and not those of RE/MAX Professionals Springfield, or RE/MAX International.
