I took an early look at the first half of the year. Of course the first half isn’t over until June 30 but comparing the first 5 months of this year to the first 5 months of last year gives us a good feel for where we are.
Last year by May 30 we sold 533 single family homes in the Mat-Su Borough. The average sales price was $221,014 and it took 62 days to sell each home. Remember, this is for the whole borough, so this includes cabins outside of Skwentna to houses on the shores of Lake Louise and everything in between. That makes the average sales price less then if we were only looking at homes in the Wasilla and Palmer area.
This year we have sold 476 homes in the same period for an average price of $230,827. It took 89 days on the average to sell each of those homes.
The average sales price is UP just over 4% which is a long term average for our area. Many people seem to think that the prices are dropping but that does not seem to be true. However, they aren’t rising as fast as many wishful sellers hoped.
The total sold is DOWN about 11% over last year. That, combined with the fact that the number of homes for sale is up almost 25% explains why individual home sellers notice that they are not seeing any action on their homes.
Bottom line for sellers, houses are still selling, but houses that are not price right for their location and condition are going to have so much competition that they may hardly get any showings at all.
Bottom line for buyers, take a good look at the selection before settling on a house. There are a lot of very nice homes out there, pick through them to find the one that best meets your needs. If you are looking for a Realtor that will help you find the home you need rather than SELL you a home, give me a call. 907 232–7900
