Friday, January 2, 2009

A disappointing end to 2008

Shown below are a series of charts summarizing recent single family home sales in Longmeadow, Massachusetts. These results include both MLS and FSBO transactions and are based upon public information obtained from the Hampden County Registrar of Deeds website.

The bargraph below shows that the number of Longmeadow home sales from January through December 2008 were significantly lower (-19.7%) vs. results for the corresponding period in 2007 (159 transactions in 2008 vs. 198 in 2007 and 189 in 2006).














[click to view larger chart]

Median prices dropped in December and the current median sales price ($295,000) was significantly lower (-15.4%) vs. December 2007 ($348,500). This decline in the median sales price is similar to the national average reported by the National association Realtors.













Current home inventory and sales figures indicate the average "time to sell" a home in Longmeadow remained at ~ 10-12 months.

Hopefully, the recent sharp declines in home mortgage rates and the new programs by the US Treasury to purchase mortgage backed securities will help stabilize the home real estate market and provide an opportunity for improved results in 2009.

If you are interested in reducing the price of your house by 4-6% to make it more attractive to potential buyers without financial impact to you, try selling your house without the assistance of a realtor by using Longmeadow FSBO.

If your house is vacant because you have not been able to sell it, consider renting it to minimize the maintenance costs (heat, higher home insurance for a vacant house.....). Our House for Rent at LongmeadowBiz has been pretty successful in locating potential tenants.