Monday, August 5, 2013

Are Cache County Home Prices on the Rise?

Nationwide, year over year home prices are substantially up. In Cache County, we haven't really seen real estate appreciation...yet.

July sales numbers might be indicating that Logan real estate values are finally on the rise again.

With 112 residential home sales, July was a strong month. Sales were up nearly 20% compared with July of 2012 and up 16% compared with last month. The interesting thing is that home prices were substantially up. Now our sample size is limited, and there were a few high end homes sold that obviously upped averages, but compared with one year ago home prices were up 12.5%. I'm not saying that real estate values are up by 12 and a half percent, but this years average sales price of $201,431 was 12.5% higher than last July when the average sold price was $176,247.

The average sales price broke the $200,000 mark for the first time since August of 2008. The median sales price during July was $173,450.

Not only was the average sales price up, but so is the average list price. The average list price of homes for sale in Cache County is now $248,531, the highest we've seen since the summer of 2010.

With real estate inventory on the decline (713 active listings compared with 734 a month ago) demand for residential real estate may soon exceed supply. This is not a drastic change, and the overall absorption rate is still at a healthy level. If home sales were to remain at the same level, and no additional homes were listed, it would take 6.37 months to sell off the current supply of homes. This inventory level quantifies Logan as a "balanced" real estate market.

The real estate market looks like it will continue to be hot for the remainder of the summer. There are actually more homes under contract now (207) than there was at this time one month ago (206).

It looks like we are seeing a shift in the real estate market, but it's nothing drastic or extreme. Overall real estate in Cache Valley is very healthy. Buyers are still able to get good deals at incredible mortgage interest rates.

If you're looking to buy, use the most complete home search features at RealEstateLogan.com to find exactly what you're looking for.