There is a lot of doom and gloom being written in the media today about the real estate market, so whenever I see any positive signs I like to report on them. New construction in today’s market has slowed down when compared to 3-5 years ago, but to me it is a positive sign that there is some demand. I was in Ballantrae Subdivision in Pelham, Alabama recently on an assignment and noticed these new homes being built.
According to MLS records over the past twelve months, from April 1, 2010 to April 1, 2o11 approximately 57 homes have sold within the Ballantrae subdivision, with 20 being new construction. Five of the sales were either foreclosure, short sale, or REO properties. Sales prices were from $178,000 to $341,000. Ballantrae has many sectors with a good variety of homes and price ranges. The average sales price over this 12 month period was $247,072 and the median price was $247,400. The average days on market (DOM) was 116 with the sale price to list price ratio being 98.52%. There are currently 44 homes listed for sale, resulting in approximately 9.26 months of inventory, meaning that it would take this long to sell all of the homes currently listed. Those statistics are not too bad. There does not appear to be an over supply of homes. While these statistics are not as impressive as they were 3-5 years ago they do give us hope that the real estate market is not bad in all areas.
Do you see similar statistics in your markets? Are there areas that are different than the norm? Let me know if you have neighborhoods in your area that are still showing signs of life and are not D.O.A.
If you have any real estate appraisal related questions you can call me at 205.243.9304, email me, or connect with me on facebook.
It’s nice to see some positive signs.
On a different note, I really like the way your photos look. Nice job, Tom.
I agree Ryan, it is nice to see something positive. Thanks for the compliment.
Tom,
Thanks for your observations on Ballantrae. We are cautiously optimistic, as the cliche goes, but we do see some encouraging signs, too. We’ve seen at least a few cases where sale prices were considerably higher than we might otherwise have expected. I keep telling folks who ask that any ‘improvements’ in values are going to be slow and subtle.
I think the big challenge we, as Agents, have these days is helping people understand that there’s a bright side to the current market. Most people are hearing and absorbing only the negative news and incorrectly assume that this is not a good time to be buying.
Thanks for your info…
David, I think the key words are “slow and subtle”. This is not something that is going to bounce back quickly. I have seen months of inventory in the 2 year year range which is not good because that tells you things are not selling, but Ballantrae’s inventory seemed very reasonable. Good luck in communicating the message to your buyers!