February Sales Update

As we get the first glimpse of what the year may bring, we are already seeing the makings for a strong 2018. Granted, this is just one month but it is foreshadowing to continued increases in home prices.

In January 2018, 50 homes sold in McCormick Ranch. This is compared to just 40 in January 2017 and a paltry 32 in January 2016.

Normally the first month of the year is pretty slow and sluggish. We're in holiday mode in December and most of us don't want to think about dealing with home buying or home selling. I don't really blame you either- who wants to think about the potential of interrupting a family event for a home inspector or a showing? Or, who wants to add the extra layer of stress of buying a home on top of Christmas?

However, it didn't stop buyers and sellers this year.

When we look at pricing, I'm seeing a little bit of a split. Price per square foot has gone up and up and up over the last 12 months. Absolute home price peaked around $600,000 but has dipped a hair over the last few months. To me, this just shows that there have been smaller homes selling over some of the larger homes available here. Depending on metric you like to use, our home prices are up between 5-7% year over year.

Moving forward, I do think that we will continue to have a strong year. Right now, there are only 102 homes listed for sale throughout McCormick Ranch. This includes single family, patio homes, townhomes, and condos. With 50 sales in a home, that just leaves a scant 2 months supply of inventory. We're going into the busy season (last February, March, and April saw 182 homes close!). Without a lot of supply, we could see prices push higher even faster.

I will say that with a major caveat, though. And that is interest rates. Over the last 45 days, the interest rate on a conventional loan has increased by almost .5%. That obviously increases the payment and can reduce purchasing power. It remains to be seem if these higher rates affect anything over the next 60 days. And, if rates continue to rise, we could see the real estate market flatten very quickly.

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