September Salt Lake Home Sales Grim !!
I'm usually eager to post the quarterly housing sales statistics published by the Wasatch Front Multiple Listing Service. Not so this quarter. Not that I''m afraid of real bad numbers, or expected more homes were sold than were, It's that numbers updated every three months are not adequate in such a volatile market.
So I'm getting the September house sales numbers for Salt Lake County to you as quickly as I can. They could be useful whether your either a buyer or seller.
If your a seller, things look grim. Houses are sitting on the market longer than they used to, and much longer than your neighbors Town House did last year.
If your a buyer, have good credit, a decent down payment, and don't have a Home to sell, you can make a heck of a buy. If your looking at a New Home, you can even do better than that.
Here are the stats.
September 07 Home Sales: Salt Lake County.
Number Homes Sold : 691 This is the most surprising stat of all. Represents a decline of 879 units or almost 56% from September , a year ago, and 46% less houses sold than were sold last month.
Days on Market : 40 Even though this is a 38% increase from 06, it is misleading in that if you subtract homes less than $200 thousand from the mix you will see a more accurate D.O.M.(and more negative) as the bulk of the inventory coming on line is in the $300 thousand + range.
Ave. Sales Price : $278,800 This is up nearly 6% from a year ago, but down over $2000 in the last 30 days.
Economic Effect : $221,100 million more dollars were available last year for circulation than this September. That is one County, one month.!!! You can see why every where you turn, someone is reporting on the negative impact of the "Real Estate Bubble".
What can we do ?. Whether you are a buyer or a seller, now is the time to carefully select your Real Estate Agent. Now is not the time for part timers, No relatives, just because you think you should, no newcomers (let someone else pay for on the job training)
Hire an Agent that has been through at least one "down market". They will know what is required. Hire an Agent with a good WEB presence (over 70% of buyers search the inter-net first when looking for a home) Hire an Agent that is very familiar with your specific neighborhood. There is no substitute for knowledge. They will know where the best deals are. And then, be patient.
If you have a good Agent, take their advise, If you don't have an agent click on About Corie to see what I think I can do for you, or call me @ 801-567-0946