Local Market
"County Ends 2007 with Some Good News"
by Ellen Kline
With 2007 now in the books, we can look back and find that real estate prices were just a bit higher in average price than in 2006 — that’s good news compared with changes in many parts of the US. This is especially great news based on the numbers as of the second quarter of 2007 — then, we were down 15 percent in units sold, not creating a favorable outlook for the balance of the year as we usually consistently sell the most homes in the first half of any year.
The $4,014 per unit increase in State College in 2007 pales to the almost-$16,000 increase of 2006 from 2005.
Units sold in State College were down about 9 percent compared with 2006, and 11 percent compared with 2005. The State College Area School District had the highest volume at 55 percent of the county sales, and highest average price of all the districts in Centre County.
The number of days on the market before a contract was up 68 percent since 2005.
Bellefonte sold 266 units at an average price of $187,899, and 86 days on the market. In 2006, it had 264 units at an average price of $164,950, and 71 days on the market. This market has quite a bit of new construction priced at the higher end, more than $275,000.
Penns Valley had 75 sales at an average price of $164,492, and 71 days on the market. In 2006, it sold 69 units at an average price of $170,712, and 69 days on the market.
Totals for our Multiple Listing Service for the Centre County Association of REALTORS, which include a small number of sales in surrounding counties, were 1,527 units, $202,228 average price, and 75 days on the market for 2007.
In 2006, there were 1,574 units, average price of $200,081, and 58 days on the market. In 2005, we had 1,618 sales, $190,325 average price, and 49 days on the market.
| State College Real Estate | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Units Sold | Sale Price | Average Days on Market | |
| 2005 | 972 | $222,506 | 41 |
| 2006 | 934 | $238,329 | 47 |
| 2007 | 864 | $242,343 | 69 |
Again, the county trends are that the time it takes to sell a home is increasing, average home appreciation is decreasing, and not as many homes are selling. We’re up 65 percent for the time it takes to go under contract, and off 6 percent in both average price and units.
The 2008 US forecast by the National Association of REALTORS expects a small upward move on existing home-sales units, but does not expect new construction to rebound until 2009. Nationally, pending home sales in October were 18.4 percent below those of the previous year.
Locally, sellers should look at realistic pricing to keep their properties from lingering on the market. As always, condition is a key component in a fast sale along with sensible pricing. Local builders and developers “get it” as they continue to be less emotional and more bottom-line-oriented toward sales, offering great price reductions and extras.
People who are selling their homes tend to be emotionally attached, and since their homes may be their largest investments, they tend to be unrealistic about pricing because it affects their next moves and bank accounts more than any other single thing they do.◊
Ellen Kline, ABR, CRS, GRI, is a REALTOR with Re/Max Centre Realty. She is past president of CCAR and an instructor in the real estate department at Penn State. You can contact her at ellenkline@aol.com.