2012 was a great year thanks to a very active real
estate market. According to year-end reports, we’re seeing a turnaround. One sign of strength was
the number of houses that sold.
Overall, home sales grew by 16% from 2011 to 2012 with our office seeing
a 30% increase. This definitely
indicates consumer confidence. Top off
increased home sales with a step in the right direction—an increase in the
average sales price of 1% from 2011 to 2012.
It’s the first time we’ve seen an increase since 2006, so that’s
encouraging.
At
the same time the number of homes for sale is very low and yet we have good
demand from buyers. What does this mean
for you? If you want to get top dollar for your property, you should take
advantage of the low inventory. Here’s
the thing: supply and demand affect what
you’ll get for your home. When everyone
who has been thinking about selling their home puts their home on the market is
not the time to dive in—if you want to get the most out of your home. If you wait until spring (the typical time
people put the For Sale sign up), you’ll have lots of homes to compete
with. And when the supply of homes goes
up, the price you’ll get for your home inevitably goes down. At the end of the day, you have a better
chance at success if you decide to sell now, instead of waiting until all the
Joneses get into the market.
Keep in mind that the mortgage loan rates are still
fantastic, making buying a home more affordable than ever. A 30-year fixed-rate mortgage hovered at
record-low rates during 2012, but the rates won’t last forever, so there’s not
a better time to buy than now.
Next
time, we’ll talk about short sales and foreclosures and what we see happening
in 2013. All in all, the market looks
good.
~
If you are interested in buying or
selling your home and want to get in on record-setting low interest rates,
contact us today at (760) 873-4161 or randi@mysierrahomes.com
or dawong1@tellis.org
so we can build a strategy to get you the results you
want. We’d be happy to assist you.
