February 2011 Real Estate Market Update

February 2011 was a sub par month for real estate sales - just like last year. Last February, there were a whopping 6 sales....all month long. Part of this was the wicked winter weather we experienced. It's tough to get into a house that is blanketed with 6 feet of snow, let alone purchase it. Part of it is that February is a 'between seasons' month in our 4 season vacation market. Most folks who want to be here for the winter buy in November/December and close in January. The spring market historically gets cranked up in March for buyers who want to be on the lake late spring/summer. The biggest part, of course, was the lousy real estate market overall.

Good news! Sales are up 50% this February! An incredible jump to....(bad news coming)... 9 total sales. Again, a lousy February. No use spinning these numbers, February was just a bad month for real estate sales. The GREAT news is that Deep Creek Dunk broke records all over the place & raised a ton of money for Maryland Special Olympics - $162,825!! But, I digress...back to the real estate update.

Let's take a look at the stats:

There are 37 homes under contract (32 last month).

The average list vs. ORIGINAL sales price was 78.11%, down from last month (80.18%).

The ADJUSTED list vs sale price was 88.03%, also down from last month (90.83%).

The current # of active/for sale listings in MRIS (minus timeshares) is 572, up from last months 560. (Continue to) Brace yourselves for a much higher number of homes on the market next month. I have at least 3 homes coming back on the market, and a few other owners thinking about it. I've listed or re-listed 2 houses in the last week alone. There will be (many) more homes...soon. We have a 63 month supply of homes available (minus timeshares) based solely on the February sales numbers. This a little ridiculous, but it's the truth - there were only 9 sales in February, so this number just more than doubled from last month (31).

Random observations:

• 1 'newer' homes sold in February (5 years old or less)
• It appears that 5 or so of these sales were vacation homes
• 7 homes sold under $300,000 (last month was 8)
• 7 (same) homes sold under $400,000
• 1 house sold over $ 1million (1 last month)
• 0 homes sold for higher than full price (last month was 1)
• One house sold for 70% of asking price
• The oldest home that sold was 111 yrs old
• The average age of the homes that sold was 36 years (25 last month)
• 1 condo/townhouse properties sold (3 last month)

Here are the statistical breakdowns:

Average Sale Price: $309,667 (last month $398,779)

Average Days on Market: 301/407 (last month 316/345) (days on market with current broker/total days on market)

We're already at 7 closed sales through today, so March should shape up to be better than February! Enjoy the sunshine :)

If you or someone you know is considering buying or selling real estate in Garrett County or Deep Creek Lake, Maryland, call Jay Ferguson of Railey Realty for all of your real estate needs! I take great pride in referrals, and I assure you, I will take great care of your friends, family & colleagues! As member of the Garrett County Board of Realtors, I can assist you with ANY listed property, regardless of the listing broker.

877-563-5350 Questions about ANY listed property? I can help! Call me!

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