A Second Spring Is In The Air!
There are a lot of signs that we are entering into our second Spring Market! Constant rain showers, having to mow lawns twice a week, thunderstorms and, oh yes, a pick up in real estate activity. It’s a common occurrence here in Central Iowa. August is our typical chance to pause and catch our breath while attentions are turned to the Iowa State Fair and of course, back to school. And while Labor Day weekend marks the unofficial end of summer, buyers and sellers return their focus to home searches and home sales.
If you were to look at the number of homes currently for sale, it would appear that things have slowed down but actually Pending Home Sales have increased at a rate faster than new home sellers are coming on the market. In fact, the number of Pending Transactions as of 8/31 are within 100 of last year. And since we are talking about Active and Pending Sales, be sure and look at Year to Date Sold transactions. We are neck and neck with last years Sold counts at this same time with just over 7,100 closed transactions with four months to go. Next month is my annual year end prediction report. I think there will be some surprises in store.
Last month I introduced a new chart called AVM Comparison Over Time. AVM stands for Automated Valuation Model. Corelogic produces an AVM. An AVM is an automatically calculated analysis of a residential property using public record information and recent comparable home sale information. The National Association of REALTORS produce an AVM that they call RVM, REALTORS Valuation Model. The advantage of an RVM is that actual MLS Sales data is incorporated into the value. Zillow and Trulia both produce their own versions of home values.
Using my personal home as an example I have updated my CMA every 30 days since May. I am being as objective as possible and as you can see by clicking on the report below that while my CMA shows my value has dipped a bit, RPR continues to show a rise in values and Corelogic & Zillow both show a decline. For the most part all values are within 5% of each other. Next month this report will shuffle down in the group below, but it’s certainly worth keeping an eye on this one as time goes by.
Click The Graphic Images Below To Download Full PDF
August 2014 Balance of the Market Report
August 2014 Inventory Breakdown By Type
August 2014 Homes For Sale
August 2014 Pending Transaction Count
August 2014 Home Sales YTD
August 2014 New Construction Inventory
August 2014 Active, Pending, Sale Price Average
August 2014 Active Listings Vs Previous 5 Years
August 2014 YTD Price Point Avg Pricing
SimplyDesMoines.com is your local resource for real estate market conditions and statistics in the Des Moines and central Iowa area.
Les Sulgrove is a licensed REALTOR® with Keller Williams Greater Des Moines and has been licensed to sell real estate in Iowa since 1990. If you are looking to buy or sell your home, contact Les today!