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Most people have already heard about two major political/economical announcements over the last month affecting real estate:
- the extension of first time home buyer tax credit and
- steady rise of unemployment numbers
How does it translate to our home values in the Triangle and around the Lineberry area?
What is going on in the job market?
While North Carolina’s unemployment rate remained at 10.8 percent in September 2009, our local numbers for the Raleigh-Cary area were improving slightly from 8.7 to 8.6 percent.
Is anyone committing to residential real estate? (Good)
Absolutely, total inventory is down 14%, new home listings are down 39%. There were 3,780 closings in Wake County this quarter, an increase of 7% compared to 3Q/08. Third quarter showings were 12% higher as well.
Closings must be affected by the current economic climate? (Bad)
Yes they have been. New home closings were off 36% and re-sale closings were off 2%. The average sales price was $244,845, down 9% compared to the average sales price at the end of 3Q/08. 59 price points (55% of the market) have a current supply of 10 months or higher (18 month supply for $800K +)
Did the current crop of sellers sell for more than prior purchase? (Ugly)
It depends on when they purchased. Current Wake County listings are priced an average of 3.84% per year above prior purchase price. Average sales price per square foot showed a 5% decrease compared to 3Q/08.
While the third quarter of this year was the best during the preceding 12 months in Wake County, most activity happened under the $250K price range. No wonder the Lineberry area homes are attractively priced for first time home buyers and showed very strong activity. Let’s explore what is happening in our neighborhood.
Lineberry area had 69 sales (year to date) with an average price of $147,792 (including condominiums, townhomes, and single family homes) and we are still showing an annual appreciation of 2.29% over a 6 year average. But wait, things got better in the last 90 days: 31 houses were sold and we still have only 33 active listings as of today (11/18/09). Our absorption rate has been phenomenal in this market at 10 home sales per month during the last quarter. This translates to a 3.5 month supply of housing, which is far better than Wake Counties 6-month average.
The Lineberry area had some truly phenomenal “days on the market” statistics during the last 90 days. We had one house sold in a matter of hours (Perennial Street.) and another sale after 441 day (Trailwood Heights Lane). We had 5 properties sold in 14 days or less and we have like-new townhomes on Barrymore Street still fighting the recession at 755 days (over 2 years). Price and condition are absolutely critical in this market.
With our average price per square foot at $105 and prime location, we are bargain priced, which explains such high activity in our area. The highest sold price was $228,000 ($127/sf) and lowest $84,450 ($83/sf). From the current 33 active listings we have a broad selection from $99,900 to $225,900.
The high number of recent sales sounds good, until you look into more details of the numerous properties being sold in rough conditions at significant discount. With new trends in appraisals, these fire sales negatively affect the valuation of our well-maintained properties. We are living in a prime location near NCSU, Cary, and downtown Raleigh, but our properties are being valued below the Wake County average of $111/sf. I would rather see us catching up in sales price than numbers sold.
Wake county numbers were reported by Triangle Area Residential Realty
Alex Gregory
Broker, Realtor
Coldwell Banker, Howard Perry & Walston
alexgt@hpw.com
(919) 606-5616
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About: Alex: Alex Gregory Broker, Realtor Coldwell Banker, Howard Perry & Walston alexgt@hpw.com (919) 606-5616 |
Tags: economic_climate, for_sale, job_market, real_estate, townhomes, trailwood, triangle, wake county