I want to start by reminding everyone about my annual sweepstakes. This is an opportunity for you to win an amazing trip for two to your choice of Las Vegas or Phoenix! All you have to do to get an entry is buy or sell a house with me or refer a friend who buys or sells with me.
Best of all, even if you don’t win the grand prize trip, every entry in the sweepstakes receives a gift certificate, valued between $100 and $1,000! This year I am bringing back the oh-so-popular Home Depot and Crate & Barrel and am adding Corbeaux Bakehouse as the restaurant choice for this year. Corbeaux is a new hot spot on 17 Ave for lunch/dinner, wine, great coffee and pastries.
Full details can be found here!
There is a lot of uncertainty about the real estate market right now and it seems as though the market itself doesn’t know what it wants to do! The numbers have been all over the place lately and here are a few examples:
In the DETACHED sector…
…the average and median prices went UP from February 2015 to March 2015 (3.8% and 1% respectively) while the benchmark price went DOWN by 0.4%
…the average days on market was 37 in January, 34 in February and back to 37 in March (after being as low as 25 in spring 2014)
In the APARTMENT sector…
…the benchmark price is UP 2% from March 2014 to March 2015 while the average price is DOWN 1.4% for the same period
(Note: an explanation of the “benchmark price” can be found in a previous blog)
One consistent figure is that the number of sales in all sectors are way down from 2014. Although sales have been increasing every month in 2015, the posted figures are still significantly lower than a year ago (down 24% attached, 28% detached and 33% apartment).
However, I would like to remind everyone that the demand in the real estate market in 2014 was incredibly strong, posting record numbers in many statistical categories throughout the year. It’s not a surprise that sales numbers would be much lower in the current economic climate.
Overall price drops have been quite minimal over the past three months and all benchmark prices are still ABOVE what they were a year ago (up 4% detached, 5.3% attached and 2% apartment).
The market is changing all the time and each community and price range looks a little bit different so please contact me if you would like specific numbers on your area!
