The first month of 2010 has come and gone. Is this the year the residential housing market rebounds? Or are we looking at another year of "ho hum" sales?
Quite often at the start of a new month its interesting to look back at the closings that occurred in the prior month and see what trends appear. The trends most real estate professionals follow closely are: the total number of sales for a given time period, the number of days on the market it took for homes to sell, and the average price of all homes that sold.
"The Big Three"
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82 homes closed in Jan. 2010
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127 days on the market was the average
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$172,400 was the average sales price
What does that tell you about the Southeast Texas housing market?
Take a look at this five year comparison. Check my data at The Real Estate Center at Texas A&M.
Here's what I see. Well, first one disclaimer. The January 2010 data is preliminary. Its from the Beaumont MLS. I pulled the data today. However, it has not been officially released yet. There may be a few more sales added to the grand total of eighty-two home sales before its all recorded in the record books. (I hope so!) Otherwise, we can say the year has not started off "like a lion" more like a lamb, kitten, or turtle for that matter.
Eighty-two home sales in January in Southeast Texas would be the fewest number our area has seen in the past five years - by a lot!
But before you go yank the "for sale" sign out of your front yard, take a deep breath and look at the average sales price. Its up. Its up a lot. Maybe some of the big dollar home buyers who've been sitting on the fence (see squirrel photo and previous post) have realized now is a great time to buy a home.
Hhum! Let's ponder that for the afternoon. Once the official residential home sales data for January 2010 is released by the Beaumont Board of Realtors, you'll see it hear.
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