Mt. Horeb Area Real Estate Blog

Mt. Horeb 2008 Real Estate Review

Many of us think a recap of 2008 maybe a little depressing, but we are going to take a look anyway. It's actually not that bad when you compare it to other areas in the State and the nation. 

The following data is taken from the South Central WI Multiple Listing Service and is deemed reliable but is not guaranteed.

92 homes sold in Mt. Horeb in  2008  (106 sold in 2007)

$224,038 was the average SOLD price ($244,382 in 2007)

The average sale price is 97% of the Average list price. (98% in 2007)

$301,000 was the  average list price of homes that went  UNsold ($346,411 in 2007)

There are currently 75 homes on the market in Mt. Horeb with an average list price of $350,626.  This is driven up by the 25 four bedroom homes with an average list price of $541,892.  If you look at the 46 three bedroom homes on the market, the average list price is only $260,671 which seems a lot more reasonable.

Spring Brings Hope Eternal

(at least I think that's the quote)

This is the time of year when many buyers and sellers decide to "wait until spring".  However, the real estate store is open all year round.  Some of the transactions that worked out the best for all parties happened right around the holidays--even during heavy snow storms.

In my history, March and April are  the months with the most  transactions closed.  That means the buyers were out in the middle of Winter home shopping.  The best advice I can give someone who is looking to sell "in the spring" is to get your house on the market right after New Years.  Every year, I am surprised at how early the phone starts ringing off the hook.  And  every year its earlier.

Buyers...Sellers get more hopeful in the spring--Hopeful that your low offer will be beat by one of the many buyers that hit the home buying market in the spring.  Sellers have time to wait in the spring. With most sellers putting their homes on the market early in the year, that is also when there is the best inventory of homes.

And then there is the interest rate equation.  They are low right now--5.5% or there abouts most places.  If you were previously looking at 6% this can save you about $60/month on a house payment.  If you were at the 6.5 % we were at last week, then this is over $100 savings on a home payment/month.

No matter what the season, homes are always for sale. There are just as many benefits to NOT waiting as there are for waiting...

Pricing in this Market

   

Is Mt. Horeb Recession Proof?

In case you missed the article in last week's Mt. Horeb Mail, you can click here to read!  Realtors speak out about local housing market.

October Market Stats

As my idol in St. Paul likes to say, the following statistics are from our Southwestern Wisconsin MLS and are deemed reliable but not guaranteed.

If you'd like to receive these monthly stats for your community or neighborhood, shoot me an email and I'll put you on my list!

Mt. Horeb

• 8 homes sold

• Average sale price of $262,780 (about 96% of list)

• 4 of those 8 were $300,000+

• Additional 6 homes have accepted offers or offers pending

Verona

• 8 homes sold

• Average  sale price of $307,087 (about 97% of list)

• 6 homes about $300,000 or more

• Additional 9 homes with accepted or pending offers (1/2 of which are over $300,000)

Blue Mounds and Barneveld--sorry guys--no action there last month except for accepted offers on a few farm properties.

Yes, Interest Rates are Up....

     

Interest rates were at 6.875% yesterday...Most are predicting them to get to 7% or slightly above before turning back down...

Read more here.

Mt. Horeb AREA Market Statistics for September

I know I promised you these on Wednesday, but I was waiting for homes that I know have closed to be mosted on our SouthCentral WI MLS system.  Those homes still haven't been posted but I'll give you what I have available to me.  As always, this information is deemed reliable but is not guaranteed. 

Furthermore, this information shouldn't be used in determining whether or not you should sell or buy or what your house may be worth.  This is simply an overall, general market snapshot.  There is more specific interesting information available  like:

In addition to what is listed below, Mt. Horeb has 11 additional homes with accepted offers and pending offers.  Of homes with accepted offers, pending offers OR sold, the price ranges look like this:

• Under $200K - 9
• $200-$250K - 1
• $250-300K - 2
• $300-$400 - 5

If you want a deeper or more specific look at your situation, never hesitate to call! 

VILLAGE OF MT.  HOREB

• 89 homes on market/ 5 sold 

• Ave Sale Price $234,400

VILLAGE OF BARNEVELD

• 20 homes on the market
• 0 Sales

VILLAGE OF BLUE MOUNDS

• 8 homes on the market

• 0 sales

CITY OF VERONA

• 61 homes on the market/ 3 sales
• Ave Sale Price $343,133

CITY OF MIDDLETON

• 75 homes on the market/5 sold

• Ave. Sale Price $354,113

VILLAGE OF CROSS PLAINS

• 13 homes on the market/ 1 sale

• $184,900

Hot Market Stats

Well, the typically "hot" selling/buying season is over so its time to see what happened.  The following statistics are taken from the Southcentral Wisconsin MLS from Jan. 2008 to end of July 2008 and are deemed reliable but not guaranteed.  I'd like to add the disclaimer that I don't truly feel the busy season is ending as open houses are getting lots of traffic and my buyers are starting to make some moves.  We'll see...maybe what was "typical" is no more...

One of the stats I want to share with you without confusing you is the expiration rate.  There are a number of homes that get listed that don't sell and simply fall off the market.  For example, in Barneveld 35 homes were listed Jan-July and only 14 sold. That's almost 50% that didn't sell at all.  Clearly, if you are putting your house on the market, that's not the category you are hoping to be in.  I'm going to call it the "expiration rate" below.

Village of Mt. Horeb

• Average list price of 103 homes on the market: $305,062
• Average sale price of 60 homes sold: $222,653
• Average days on market 134
• Expiration rate: 49%

City of Verona

• Average list price of 68 homes on the market: $441,747
• Average sale price of 82 homes sold: $293,657
• Average days on market: 109
• Expiration rate: 36%

City of Middleton

• Average list price of 112 homes on the market: $552,806
• Average sale price of 88 homes sold: $351,366
• Average days on market: 67
• Expiration rate: 33.85%

Village of Blue Mounds

Average list price of 8 homes on the market: $244,200

Average sale price of 2 homes sold: $312,500

Average days on market: 23

Expiration rate:  43%

Village of Barneveld

Average list price of 17 homes on the market: $277,117

Average sale price of 14 homes sold: $162,992

Average days on market: 90

Expiration rate:  49%

As usual, there are many interesting pieces to this market statistics puzzle.  If there is something specific you'd like to know about your town, school district or even your neighborhood, I'd love to crunch the numbers!

10 Facts You Should Know About WI Real Estate

The Wisconsin Real Estate Association has put together a flyer/brochure about today's real estate markets.   I think this one of their best but I won't list all 10.  Here are the top three points:

1)  There is no such thing as a National Real Estate market.  When looking to buy or sell, pay attention to local market trends for pricing and inventory.  A devastating market in San Diego and Florida doesn't mean a thing in Wisconsin!

2)  Home values are STABLE in Wisconsin. The WRA reports that in 2007:

• The average price of a WI home remained stable, with a .2 percent improvement".
• While there are pockets of decline, generally speaking, homes are still worth more than they were three years ago.
• WI continues to outperform the rest of the Midwest.

3)  A house is a place to make a home, not a buck.  I agree:  see my post "Is it Real Estate or a home?"   The problem is that most of us think of it in terms of "how much will I make when I sell?" vs. building a home for yourself and/or your family. 

For more housing facts visit www.wra.org/housingfacts.

If you are following advice point #1, your best bet for your truly LOCAL market facts is ME, your local realtor.  Check back soon as I'm in the processes of compiling our local data!

Mt. Horeb Area Market Statistics

May - June 2008 Market Statistics

Village of Mount Horeb

• 99 homes on the market
• 25 sold
• $234,748 average sale price
• Homes selling withing 96% of list price
• Average days on market: 142

Village of Blue Mounds

• 10 homes on the market
• 0 sold
• $260,459 average list price

Town of Blue Mounds

• 19 homes on the market
• 2 sold
• $298,750 average sale price

Barneveld

• 14 homes on the market
• 7 sold
• $201,271 average sale price
• Homes selling within 95% of list price
• Average days on market of 133

The above information is from Southwestern Wisconsin MLS and is deemed reliable but not guaranteed.  Statistics always interest me, the way they can change by changing one value.  For instance, had I done all of the Mt. Horeb School District (as I sometimes do), the numbers would have been much higher because it would have included rural properties with acreage which tend to sell for much higher prices than those in town. 

As I said before, if you are running stats to determine comparables in order to make an offer, the best information you can get is that which is as local as possible, even down to the neighborhood!