The month of August took a bit of a beating, but that is to be expected. The month of August for real estate is one that is typically slow. Many people are squeezing their last minute vacations in before the school year starts and they are not focused on real estate. When put into perspective, the downward trend was expected.
In addition, when looking at the % change from a year ago, those numbers are also expected. The entire year so far has been showing a total decline of around 12% when compared to 2008. Great Valley looks like they took a huge hit in value, and while that is the case, it needs to be noted that any homes over the $300,000 mark is not a “first time home buyer” home and in a market that has taken a heavy hit. Buyers for those homes are just very hard to find.
The good news is that Affordability has fallen to an even more attainable rate nationally at 16% from 18% earlier in the year, and the First Time Home Buyer credit has created a great amount of activity. Both last month and this month, virtually all of the clients I have an 95% of potential clients I talk to are looking to cash in on that credit. And while it is good news, I also have some mixed feelings about it.
The reason for mixed feelings is that it is basically creating a false market by causing buyers who would otherwise wait, to jump in the market and create more activity. Then you have multiple offers on homes and the buyers end up paying more for the home than they really should. If there were no credit, then what they would pay would be more inline with what it really should be.
But in the end, real estate is a huge determiner of our economy and it does need this activity. It’s a catch 22.
If you DO want to take advantage of the Tax Credit, you are very quickly running out of time to jump in on that. Call me today – 484.995.9318 – to get started on finding a home.
| Area | AVG Sold $ | % Change Month |
% Change Year |
DOM | List/Sale Diff | Overall Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Downingtown | $350,071 | -4% | -7% | 76 | 92.8% | Down |
| West Chester | $349,463 | -8% | -11% | 74 | 91.6% | Down |
| Great Valley | $455,464 | -23% | -33% | 99 | 10% | Down |
| Coatesville | $216,182 | -3% | +2% | 70 | 94% | Even |
| Octorara | $210,904 | -4% | -5.6% | 104 | 91.7% | Down |
| Chester County | $354,526 | -4% | -12% | 79 | 92% | Down |
