Dollar volume for April was up 33%!

New homes sold in April increased 78% over new homes sold in April of 2011!!…and are up 56% YTD.

Historically, April sales outpace March by an average of 10% or less.  April 2012 sales increased by 25% over March 2012.

Nationally we know that one job is created for every two homes sold.  With 2,012 sales so far in 2012 we have helped to bring 1,000 jobs to Ada County.  We also know that for each homes sold there is a $60,000 cash infusion to the community; based on YTD sales we have added $120Million to our valley’s economy so far this year.

Of our total sales in April… 36% were distressed….down 6% from March 2012. In April 2011, 56% of our sales were distressed. There was an interesting reversal in the make up of distressed solds.  In January 56% of distress properties were REOs and 44% were short sales.  In April the ratio was 60% short sales and 40% REOs. Whether this is a short term effect or a real indication that we are clearing our the “shadow inventory” remains to be seen in coming months.

Pending sales at the end of April were 1,195; an increase of 5% from the end of March. In general pending sales in April are the highest of the year.  The percentage of pending sales in distress decreased 2% from March, totaling 31% overall. We were averaging close to 50% of pendings in distress over that last five months; but have decreased steadily since January.  Of Pending sales in distress, short sales outnumbered REO’s 2 to 1.

At the end of April, we had 25% more sales pending than at the end of April 2011.

April median home price was $158,777; up 19% from April 2011; and up 4% from March 2012. Median home price is up 15% since January of this year and above $150,000 for three months running.

New Homes median price for April was $193,308; a decrease of 4% from April 2011.

The number of houses available increased slightly for the first time in a couple of years. At the end of April our total active inventory was 1,993 homes. This is up 6% from March and 25% less than last year at this time.  Possibly the increase in median price is enabling some real move up buyer activity.  Kit tells me that some of this increase is from “Soon to be built” new homes.

At the same time, the percentage of distressed active inventory dipped 3% to 30%. This is the lowest number we’ve seen in several years. We have been hovering between 33% and 36% for the last year. We remain well below the 40% levels set last spring….when we were on the increase. Of our Distressed Inventory 93% is Short Sales and only 7% is REO.

The price point with the largest increase in available properties is $200,000 to $250,000 which added 50 units in April.

In Ada County we now have less than 3.4 months of inventory on hand.

The price category in shortest supply is <$119,000 with 1.7 months. In the range of $120,000 to $159,999 we have 2.7 months. All price points up to $250,000 have less than 4 month’s supply. We have benefited for nearly two years from inventory levels much lower than national average.

Multiple offers are much more prevalent; now becoming the norm.

Based on April sold data, our most desirable price point is <$120,000 at 26% of all sales; down 4% from last month.  The next largest price point sold is $120,000 to $200,000 which increased by 20% from March.  The biggest increase was in sales between $200,000 and $250,000; which were up 200% from January 2012.

Comparing Sales to Inventory, for key price points… @<$120,000 we sold 66% of all that we had in April; for $120,000 to $160,000 we sold 50% of all that was available; for $160,0000 to $200,000 we sold 40% of the total available.

There is no longer any doubt that, in Ada County, we are going to have a heck of a spring season…and the future is looking brighter by the day.

Not as big an increase as in February...but YTD is still very strong.

Median prices are up double digits for the first time in years…

Median price has increased in five of the last 7 months!

The number of houses available is the lowest since 2001.

The last time inventory was this low was in 2001!

Distressed properties show improvement in a categories.

See what happens as inventory goes down…?

Even though sales were down a little; dollar volume for March was up 7%…(more on this in the “Median Price” section below)

Historically, March sales outpace February by an average of 30%. March 2012 sales increased by 17% over January 2012…(more on this in the “Inventory” section below)

Nationally we know that one job is create for every two homes sold.  With 1,353 sales so far in 2012 we have helped to bring 676 jobs to Ada County.  We also know that for each homes sold there is a $60,000 cash infusion to the community; based on YTD sales we have added $81Million to our valley’s economy so far this year.

Of our total sales in March… 43% were distressed….down 1% from February 2012. In March 2011, 58% of our sales were distressed. REO sales were a little more than half of all distressed sales and short sales were a little less than half.

Pending sales at the end of March were 1,134; an increase of 16% from the end of February. In general pending sales increase in strongly in March compared to February; and should continue to increase all the way through April or May. The percentage of pending sales in distress decreased 8% from February, totaling 33% overall. This is our first month below 40% in several years.  Of Pending Sales in distress, short sales outnumbered REO’s 2 to 1.

At the end of March, we had 23% more sales pending than at the end of March 2011.

February median home price was $154,900; up 14% from March 2011; and down 2% from February 2012. Median home price is up 22% since January of this year.

New Homes median price for March was $201,558; an increase of 6% from March 2011.

The number of houses available continues to decrease. At the end of March our total active inventory was 1,879 homes. This is down 3% from February and 29% less than last year at this time.  The last time we had an active inventory this small was in December of 2001!  Interestingly enough…sales for that month in 2001 were 517…essentially the same is March 2012.

At the same time, the percentage of distressed active inventory dipped 1% to 33%. We have been hovering between 33% and 36% for the last year. We remain well below the 40% levels set last spring….when we were on the increase. Of our Distressed Inventory 91% is Short Sales and only 9% is REO.

In Ada County we  now have less than 4 months of inventory on hand…3.9% to be exact.

The price category in shortest supply is <$119,000 with 2.3 months. In the range of $120,000 to $159,999 we have 3.1 months. All price points up to $250,000 have less than 4 months supply. We have benefited for nearly two years from inventory levels much lower than national average. Now, however, we are seeing a measurable slowdown in sales as the inventory continues to fall. Multiple offers are much more prevalent; now becoming the norm.

REALTOR® Magazine online offer great insight into managing multiple offers with theirNegotiating Toolkit.

Based on March sold data, our most desirable price point is <$120,000 at 30% of all sales.  The next largest price point sold is $120,000 to $160,000 which accounted for 24% of total sales.  The biggest increase was in sales between $200,000 and $250,000; which were up 100% from January 2012 to 18% overall.

Comparing Sales to Inventory, for key price points… @<$120,000 we sold 50% of all that we had in March; for $120,000 to $160,000 we sold 33% of all that was available; for $160,0000 to $200,000 we sold 32% of the total available.

Translated to a retail metaphor…the shelves are getting pretty bare.

There is no longer any doubt that, in Ada County, we are exiting our “recovery” mode and are full into “acute inventory shortage” mode.

The challenge to our continued recovery is available product. To all of you builders out there…please come back.  Sorry about the last few years. We really need you now.

There continues to be broad speculation on the impact of REO properties coming onto our market in a way that would upset our continued recovery.   The level of consumer demand, and the nearly bare cupboards of home inventory suggest that we will be able to withstand the impact.

If you are new or you blacked out last year, you are probably asking what is a RE BarCamp, well the event is not structured like a typical planned conference. Sessions are not  planned out in advance and nobody is paid to deliver a session. Anybody can deliver a session and attendees are strongly encouraged to participate. The whole point of being there is to get information you find useful and meet new people, expanding your personal community and network.

So Why Should You Show UP? To Share, to Learn, to talk about what makes us better real estate agents, brokers and business people. To connect with like-minded social media marketers. Because there is something for everyone here, beginner to pro!

Did we mention it’s FREE! Make sure to register now because seats are limited.

Do you have a topic you really want to know more about ? Please take 30 seconds to go vote on the topics that will be discussed and learn more about REBar Camp.

IF you have a topic that you want to share more about and would like to become involved with REBar as one of the “Thought Leaders” please email Sarah Kestler to find out more.

February sales up 13.5% over Feb. 2011!

February median price is up 6%. Two months in a row of increases is a nice change!And now

As inventory continues to fall...median price FINALLY starts to rebound.

33% of Active Listings are in distress...no real change. Sold and Pendings both have strong improvement in Feb.

This is like watching a limbo contest...."How low can you go?"

Historically, February sales outpace January by an average of 14%. February 2012 sales increased by 14% over January 2012.

Nationally we know that one job is create for every two homes sold.  So far in 2012 we have helped to create 400 jobs.  We also know that for each homes sold there is a $60,000 cash infusion to the community; based on YTD sales we have added $50Million to our valley’s economy so far this year.

Of our total sales in February… 44% were distressed….down 9% from January 2012. In February 2011, 59% of our sales were distressed. The 9% decrease in February returns us to the average that we’d been seeing over the last 8 months.   In July we were down to 42% overall.

Pending sales at the end of February were 975; an increase of 14% from the end of January. In general pending sales increase in February compared to January; and should continue to increase all the way through April or May. The percentage of pending sales in distress decreased 6% from January, totaling 41% overall. We are now at ten consecutive months below 50%.

At the end of February, we had 14% more sales pending than at the end of January 2011.

February median home price was 158,000; up 5.6% from February 2011; and up 14% from January 2012.

New Homes median price for January was $209,000; a decrease of 1% from January 2011.

The number of houses available continues to decrease. At the end of February our total active inventory was 1,932 homes. This is down 1% from December and 27% less than last year at this time.

At the same time, the percentage of distressed active inventory dipped 1% to 34%. We have been hovering between 33% and 36% since May. We remain well below the 40% levels set last spring….when we were on the increase.

In Ada County we have 4.4 months of inventory on hand.

The price category in shortest supply is <$119,000 with 2.5 months. In the range of $120,000 to $159,999 we have 3.7 months. All price points up to $200,000 have less than 5 months supply. We have benefited all year from inventory levels much lower than national average. Now, however, we are starting to see some slowdown in sales as the inventory continues to fall. Multiple offers are much more prevalent than any time since 2005.

REALTOR® Magazine online offer great insight into managing multiple offers with their Negotiating Toolkit.

Based on February sold data, our most desirable price point is <$120,000 at 28% of all sales.  The next largest price point sold is $120,000 to $160,000 which accounted for 23% of total sales.  The biggest increase was in sales between $200,000 and $250,000; which were up 100% from January 2012 to 14% overall.

There is no longer any doubt that, in Ada County, we are in full recovery mode.

The challenge to our continued recovery is available product.

There continues to be broad speculation on the impact of REO properties coming onto our market in a way that would upset our continued recovery.   The level of consumer demand, and the nearly bare cupboards of home inventory suggest that we will be able to withstand the impact.