Friday, May 8, 2009

Ann Arbor Home Sales Report: April 2009

A spiked increase in Ann Arbor Single Family Home sales (in units)of 13.5% in the month of April 2009 (over April 2008), has been cause for optimism in the local market. However, average sales price continues to decline, year over year.

Here are the latest statistics from the Ann Arbor Board of Realtors. These numbers are for Single Family Homes (SFH) Residential, and do not include condominiums:

SFH Listings in April 2008: 872
SFH Listings in April 2009: 663
Decrease: 24%

SFH Sales April 2008: 229
SFH Sales April 2009: 260
Increase: 13.5%

SFH Sales Year to Date 2009: 766
SFH Sales Year to Date 2008: 767

SFH Avg. Sales Price April 2008: $222,798
SFH Avg. Sales Price April 2009: $145,611
Decrease: 34.7%

SFH Avg. Sales Price Y.T.D. 2008: $217,631
SFH Avg. Sales Price Y.T.D. 2009: $151,111
Decrease: 30.6%

Thursday, May 7, 2009

Finally, Some Real Estate News Worth Blogging About

A tip of the cap goes to reporter Paula Gardner of the Michigan Business Review and her article yesterday about the encouraging turn-around in Ann Arbor Real Estate for the month of April 2009.

With the average home sales price in virtual free-fall for the past 2 years plus, many buyers understandably had stayed on the sidelines. On the front lines in Ann Arbor in the past 8 weeks or so, it feels as if this log-jam has broken, and buyers have taken the plunge. Many local brokers and agents are reporting a huge spike in sales, with multiple offers on many properties, and homes selling within days of coming on the market. Within the past few weeks, we sold one of our listings the first day it was on the market, worked with one buyer who made an offer on another home the first day it was on the market, and worked with another buyer who missed out on a house that sold the first day it was on the market.

We know that this time of year is always the peak of the annual market, but we are certainly happy to see it here, and see that buyers have plunged in and have heeded the message that now is a great time to buy, and that they will never be able to actually time the bottom of the market.