June 4, 2013

 

The island is gorgeous right now with all the “rhodies” and other flowering plants in bloom across the island.  Today is a fabulous blue sky day!

The real estate market has been a bit sluggish in the past few weeks.  This is a very typical scenario since mid-May brings college graduations, spring youth sports, high school proms and June welcomes high school graduations.  These activities keep many potential buyers focused on family activities and not in second/vacation home shopping.  I expect activity will increase before the end of June.

There were 32 residential sales in May (avg. price $882K and median price $576K) compared to 28 sales in April 2013 (avg. price $936K and median price $505K) and compared to 36 sales in May 2012 (avg. price $805K and median price $452K).  So, the average price is down a bit from last month but UP(10%) from the same month a year ago. The median price is WAY UP when comparing month over month and the same timeframe last year.  This is a good sign!  The YTD totals reflect the same: Although YTD 2013 shows a decrease in the number of sales, I am not going to use these numbers any longer.  As I mentioned before the “fiscal cliff” scare at the end of 2012 accelerated the number of sales in December 2012 and therefore “STOLE” a good number of sales that would have occurred in 2013.  Thusly let us look only at the prices and days on market when comparing YTD totals.   The YTD(2013) average price is $888K and  median price is $580K compared to 2012 YTD sales with $921K avg. price and $522K median price.  These numbers show the average price declined (by 4%) while the median price is up (by 11%).  These numbers are very positive since the “decline in average prices is less than last month YTD totals and the median price increase is consistent with that of last month.  The only negative I see this month is the average “days on market”  which is up to 342 days in 2013 compared to 260 days in 2012.

I know these statistics may make your “head spin” somewhat but the bottom line is for the first time since the beginning of the year I am seeing more positive than negative numbers in the Vineyard real estate market.  Here’s to a HEALTHY market the remainder of 2013.

Lastly, interest rates have ticked up a bit which will help those buyers who are “sitting on the fence” jump into the market and purchase.

Please let me know any questions you might have about how this prediction affects your property. As always, I appreciate your trust and patience in what I do.  All the best in real estate and otherwise.

 

Doug Reece                                                                            

Certified Residential Specialist®,
Certified Luxury Home Marketing Specialist®
Accredited Buyers Agent®