Here we are mid-May. Practically everywhere I go I am asked how the market is doing. As with the last month or two I've been saying that 2015 had been the best year since 2008 when the banking meltdown took place and that 2016 seems to be about even with the 2015 market. As you will see below, that is sort of true and very not true. Sort of true with respect to residential since more residential properties have been sold this year, but at a lower price and with more days on market (median). The "very not true" is shown in land sales. With 4 and a half months under our belts the land market is beginning to show even less "strength" if one could say that there was any strength recently. You'll see. Take a look at the numbers below. They will give you a quick sense of what is going on in the four counties of the Northern Neck (Lancaster, Northumberland, Westmoreland and Richmond) up to the minute....in mid May.
Residential sales from 1/1 to 5/15 for the respective years
| |
2014 |
2015 |
2016 |
Active |
| # sold |
136 |
151 |
167 |
781 |
| $ sold (millions) |
34.8 |
47.3 |
43.7 |
323.6 |
| Median sales price |
164,500 |
240,000 |
200,000 |
328,300 |
| Median days on market |
224.5 |
204 |
232 |
186 |
This looks pretty encouraging to me in regard to having a good 2016. Having had very strange weather and a cool and often cooler spring, we seem quite on track. You never can trust the anecdotal information so take this with a grain of salt, but I see a lot of motivated to buy people out there and I think 2016 will show an improvement over 2015 for sales and not just in units. (Right now we are down in terms of total dollars, have a lower edian sales price and have higher median days on market. There is no question that 2016 shows a much improved market over 2014.)
Land sales from 1/1 to 5/15 for the respective years
| |
2014 |
2015 |
2016 |
Active |
| # sold |
44 |
43 |
30 |
953 |
| $ sold (millions) |
6.1 |
3.9 |
2.6 |
140.9 |
| Median sales price |
104,500 |
45,000 |
36,000 |
79,000 |
| Median days on market |
171.5 |
265 |
274.5 |
388 |
The numbers really speak for themselves. Goodness, 30 sales thus far this year and 953 actives. Active listings that have median days on market in excess of a year!!! 388 days as the median. The land market is very challenged.
And in the "just because" category I took a look at land sales for properties priced at over $100,000 and this is what I found.
Listings priced at $100,000 plus --number of sold lots thus far in 2016 is 6. The number of active is 389.
Total dollars of the six solds equals $1.8 million. Total dollars of the active inventory is $115.1 million.
Median sales price of 2016's solds is $228,000, while the actives has $199,000 as the median sales price.
Median days on market of this year's solds is 309 days. Median days on market for the actives is 360.
