The big picture on the current local market is that it is a good time to sell, a historically phenomenal time to buy and a great time to invest in rental property.
This week we will discuss each of these market segments in a 3 part series. Today is part 1 of 3: It’s a Good Time to Sell!
There are three types of real estate markets: a buyer’s market, a seller’s market and a balanced market. A buyer’s market is considered more than 7 months of inventory while a seller’s market is less than 5 months of inventory. A balanced market is between those two with an inventory of 5 to 7 months. Collin County Association of Realtors current statistics show that from February 2011 to January 2012 we had an average of 6.2 months supply of inventory – a balanced market. However it also shows that in December and January we had less than a 5 month supply (4.3 and 4.2 respectively) – a seller’s market. Several years ago our market went through a shift and our inventory began to exceed the supply of buyers on the market. Buyers were not buying due to uncertainty in the market, loss of value on current home or job loss so homes were not selling. Many people determined that was not a good time to move so they did not try to sell their homes. The national news still paints a gloomy housing crisis picture and sellers continue to wait, but locally we are doing rather well and starting to see the indicators moving in a continuously positive direction. Sellers need to know that there is minimal competition on the market (down overall 17% on the average over last year –see chart) and many homes arriving on the market that are well-prepared with staging, properly priced according to the current market and in overall good condition are receiving multiple offers within 60 days. It is a good time to SELL and locally we are moving toward a seller’s market.
Give us a call and let’s start discussing today what you need to be preparing to make your move this year!