Winter is creeping ever closer (I cringe saying it, but its true!) and with the changes in weather come changes in the real estate market.

We are currently at 1.3 months of inventory, so we’ve gone up a little bit.  This is compared to 3 months of inventory in October of last year. This means that if no more new homes entered the market, the current homes would sell in about 1.3 months. It also means that we are still in a seller’s market. A balanced market is about five to six months of inventory; anything below that is a sellers market, and anything above it is a buyer’s market. 1.2 is low, and is shown by the fact that we continue to have multiple offers and listings selling for far above asking price!

The Spokane Real Estate Market has had 151 new homes come on the market this week (up 7 from last week), and 650 homes sold in the last 30 days. The average days on market is about 25, compared to about 50 in October of last year. The average list price vs sold price is slightly above 100%, very similar to October of last year which was just below 100%.  The median home price has gone up to about $280,000 compared to $250,000 in October 2018.

So, what does this mean for you as a buyer or seller?  It means that we are still very much in a seller’s market. Buyers need to continue to be ready to move quickly on a home that they like; “sleeping on it” is rarely an option when you’re looking at competing offers.  Buyers that are on a tight budget and are looking for something specific need to be pre-approved and ready to go, or risk being priced out by next summer.  Love letters to sellers are becoming more common and more important; finding a way to connect with the sellers and convey how much you love their home can be helpful when you’re up against higher priced or cash offers. 

 

For sellers, it means that buyers may be less likely to negotiate when it comes to repairs. If they’re paying top dollar for the home, they are going to want to have the peace of mind of knowing that they’re buying a home that is move-in ready.  When listing a house, pricing is still important; while it is a seller’s market, we are still seeing homes sit on the market if they are priced above market value or are not in good condition, especially if there are listings in the area that are priced aggressively. At Haven Real Estate Group, we ensure that your home is priced strategically; you of course want to get top dollar for your home, but also want to ensure that it doesn’t sit on the market and cost you valuable time.

 

Although November through February are usually the slower months for the real estate market, the last couple of years were pretty steady through those months so I’m curious to see what this next week will bring!