Week Ending July 10, 2009
2009 is officially half over and this week I have a lot of statistics to share. So let’s get started!
Active Listing Inventory 
The number of homes for sale have increased every single month since January of this year. Note that it was April of 2008 when listing inventory began to decline. It will be interesting to watch this chart the remaining months of 2009. Increasing inventory indicates confidence of sellers in the real estate market.
Average Days On The Market 
Homes continue to stay on the market longer 3 out of 6 months this year. The homes that are selling quickly are priced well and are in top condition. If your home is currently for sale, consider having a professional stager come in and look over your home. Something as simple as rearranging a room may just be what it takes to get that buyer to make an offer!
Accepted Offers 
This is where the rubber meets the road. Contracts written (also known as Sale Pendings) are when a buyer and seller come to a formal agreement and the sale process is put into motion by way of a legal contract. If you ever wondered when our real estate market hit that proverbial brick wall, it was in July of 2007. This June more homes went under contract than any other time in the last 3 years with 924 accepted offers.
Closed Transactions 
Closing day! 779 buyers closed on their home in June and just like New Listings, this number has steadily increased since January. I will be watching this statistic very close the next few months. We were only 3 transactions off of equally last June’s closings. If you look back up at the dip in Pending on the previous chart where Pendings dropped off in July of 2007 you can see the drop in August of 2007 of closed transactions.
Average Sale Price 
And finally, the trend for the first half of the year shows an overall drop in Average Sale Price. The first time home buyer stimulus is the cause of this drop. Most transactions in the first 6 months of this year were for homes priced under $200,000. If you want to see how the different price ranges fared in the month of June, check out my blog post from last week.
Total Number of Homes For Sale in the Des Moines Area – 5228
New Listings Taken During the Last 7 Days – 245
Accepted Offers (Pendings) During the Last 7 Days – 122
Homes Closed (Solds) During the Last 7 Days – 51
Average Sale Price of Solds – $183,509
Average Days On Market of Solds – 121
If you would like to search for homes in the Des Moines area, feel free to visit my website. I don’t require a login or password and collect no information about you. You can always contact me if you have questions.
Click Here to begin your own home search or go to http://search.homesbyles.iow.mlxchange.com
Les Sulgrove, RE/MAX Real Estate Group
Information on this blog posting is for informational purposes only and not intended as solicitation if you are already working with a REALTOR®.
There is no obligation or fee for any information on this blog posting.
Data Source: Les Sulgrove, RE/MAX Real Estate Group
Des Moines Area Association of REALTORS® MLS.
Des Moines Metropolitan Area defined as: Adel, Altoona,
Ankeny, Bondurant, Carlisle, Clive, Des Moines, Dallas Center,
Desoto, Granger, Grimes, Indianola, Johnston, Norwalk,
Pleasant Hill, Polk City, Urbandale, Van Meter ,Waukee,
West Des Moines, Windsor Heights, Winterset