Wednesday, December 31, 2008
The Year in Review
The real estate market's recent fall isn't news to anyone, but it does little good those of us in Columbus to hear about the surburban crashes of California or all the vacant vacation homes in Florida. What does our local market look like today, and how how does it compare to last year? Let's take a look.
In December, a paltry three homes were sold in German Village. Sales for the year were a stagnant 65 homes, down 38% from 2007. Right now there are 109 homes for sale in the Village, a glut of inventory. Here's some stats for all you math lovers:
As you can see, the median list price and sold price has remained steady, albeit with no real appreciation to speak of. It's a tough road for high-end listings. The difference between the highest listing last year and this year may be savvy sellers willing to hold out until that part of the market rebounds. Franklin county as a whole has seen very few million dollar homes sold this year.
For the rest of us proles, though, the listings in the median have a little more meat of interest. Median sale prices for 2008 were 6.6% (repeating, of course) below their respective asking prices. In normal markets, Realtors don't want to see their listing prices more than 2-3% off the final sold price, and never over 5%. That nearly 7% difference is a testament to how strong this buyer's market truly is. Of course, this is still German Village. Don't expect to lowball a seller 25% under the asking price and get a set of keys and a gift basket back with your signed offer, but 7% off still means thousands and thousands of dollars in savings, and that's just a starting point.
And don't forget - a single dollar of appreciation is still moving in the right direction, and so far German Village is holding strongly to its historic value.
So that's 2008. I hope you kept your health, because chances are everyone lost at least a little bit of something else. The good news is that every coin has two sides, and this incredible buyer's market is going to present fantastic opportunities throughout 2009. There is unlikely to be a better time to get into German Village and join this great community. If you have any interest on any of those 109 listings just waiting to be toured, give Ned Merkle a call at (614) 443-9768. Shameless plug aside, we wish you a great 2009 and hope to see you around the Village soon!
In December, a paltry three homes were sold in German Village. Sales for the year were a stagnant 65 homes, down 38% from 2007. Right now there are 109 homes for sale in the Village, a glut of inventory. Here's some stats for all you math lovers:
As you can see, the median list price and sold price has remained steady, albeit with no real appreciation to speak of. It's a tough road for high-end listings. The difference between the highest listing last year and this year may be savvy sellers willing to hold out until that part of the market rebounds. Franklin county as a whole has seen very few million dollar homes sold this year.
For the rest of us proles, though, the listings in the median have a little more meat of interest. Median sale prices for 2008 were 6.6% (repeating, of course) below their respective asking prices. In normal markets, Realtors don't want to see their listing prices more than 2-3% off the final sold price, and never over 5%. That nearly 7% difference is a testament to how strong this buyer's market truly is. Of course, this is still German Village. Don't expect to lowball a seller 25% under the asking price and get a set of keys and a gift basket back with your signed offer, but 7% off still means thousands and thousands of dollars in savings, and that's just a starting point.
And don't forget - a single dollar of appreciation is still moving in the right direction, and so far German Village is holding strongly to its historic value.
So that's 2008. I hope you kept your health, because chances are everyone lost at least a little bit of something else. The good news is that every coin has two sides, and this incredible buyer's market is going to present fantastic opportunities throughout 2009. There is unlikely to be a better time to get into German Village and join this great community. If you have any interest on any of those 109 listings just waiting to be toured, give Ned Merkle a call at (614) 443-9768. Shameless plug aside, we wish you a great 2009 and hope to see you around the Village soon!