Somerville Housing Stats August 2009

The numbers wouldn’t be complete if we didn’t also look at the average Days on Market which are:
Single Family Homes – 71
Condos – 90
Multi Family Houses – 81

Let’s compare this to what was happening in the spring.

Somerville Housing Stats April 2009

What instantly jumps out is the change in the condo market. Twice the amount of condos have sold in the last 6 months than sold in the 6 months prior to April, although the average price has gone down by $20,000. We went from 11 months of inventory on the market (which reflects a buyer’s market) to the current 4.2 for the absorption rate (the amount of time it would take for the current demand in the market to buy up all of the properties currently for sale). This now reflects a market at equilibrium.

The multi family market is showing a substantial $19,000 average sales price increase while prices for single family homes in Somerville has remained steady.

If you’re curious, here’s a look back at some older statistics for the city:

• Somerville Market in January 2009
• November 2008 Real Estate Update

As you can see, the inventory of homes and condos for sale in Somerville is quite a bit lower than last April. Let’s take the number crunching a step further and look more closely at what’s going on today:

The last column shows the number of months of inventory that’s currently for sale. Right now the market for single family homes and multi family properties are at equilibrium while the condo market is showing it’s still a buyer’s market in the city. Does this mean that if you decide to sell your Somerville condo that it will take you 11 months? Absolutely not! Keep in mind that this number is an estimate of how long it would take to sell every property that is on the market as of today. There are some properties that are grossly overpriced and just won’t sell. It also depends on the amount of marketing the property receives. I’ve just put a condo in Somerville under agreement after only 38 days of marketing.

Curious to take a look back historically at the Somerville real estate market? Here’s what the housing market looked like in January and the real estate stats from November 2008.

Let’s compare these figures to what was happening in December (which reflects the fall market in Stoneham)

What we see is the number of properties has remained pretty level. In a “normal” market we see a lot more properties come on the market in the spring. (Of course we’re definitely not in a normal market now!) The number of properties that have sold has gone down a bit and that has lengthened the amount of months of inventory that is currently for sale. However, keep in mind that properties take on average 2 months to close, so these figures are still reflecting the winter market. In keeping with the rest of the country, the average sales prices in the city have continued to come down.

If you’d like more information on homes for sale in Stoneham just ask!