2011 Ends with Higher than Expected Volume but Lower Prices

1/3/2012

The month of December broke the recent trend of the past two months as we experienced an unexpected, yet welcomed, spike in volume of total number of residential sales in our local market area. I'm certain that the historically low mortgage interest rates are helping to spur this activity and I suspect that the milder than usual weather conditions helped keep home buyers in the shopping mode.

In November we saw our sales volume settle down for the 2nd straight month in a row after having experienced the highest monthly sales volume for the calendar year in the month of September. As previosuly reported, the total sales volume in both October and November settled down, in fairly typical fashion during the pre-holiday season, dropping to 138 and 103 new pending sales recorded, respectively.  In December, however, we climbed right back up to 115 new pending sales, gaining back nearly half of the drop posted month to month from October to November.

Although pending residential sales volume posted gains, median and mean selling prices posted declines in both categories, continuing the roller coaster trend of prices rising and falling month to month throughout most all of the 2011 calendar year. For the month of December 2011 we experienced a 4.69% decrease in the median sale price recorded at $189,900 and a 3.49% decrease in the mean sale price that was tallied at $219,991.

These sales statistics cover the towns of Dartmouth, Fall River, Little Compton, RI, Somerset, Swansea, Tiverton, RI, and Westport. They reveal monthly activity for residential properties that went under agreement from 12/01/2011 through to 12/31/2011 in our local market area as serviced by the H3MLS-Property Information Network.

Don't forget that this time of year generally marks the quieter months in our local real estate market and that can translate into enhanced buyer opportunities, especially with the historically low mortgage interest rates that are being made available. So, if you're ready to jump off the fence and into the local real estate market and take advantage of the opportunities that exist, contact us today to determine your options as either a buyer or a seller. We're here to work through the complexities of the local real estate market, make sure you neither under sell or over pay for your property, and to help you out along the way!

We are ready to serve all of your local real estate appraisal and brokerage needs. Our coverage area includes the southcoast region of Massachusetts and the east bay region of Rhode Island. Please feel free to contact us today!

If you are a Southcoast Health System employee visit our website to learn how you can take advantage of our new discount service program. Save up to 30% on brokerage fees.