Postcards from the Lake

Homes sales report for Lake of the Ozarks

Sales of single family residences down 30% from last year

An analysis of recent sales figures reflects what we knew already: that the sales of single family homes in 2008 were down substantially from previous years.  To see it on a graph is even more impacting.

Sales of single family residences in 2008 were down 30% from 2007, which were already down 10% from 2006!

The total number of homes sold dropped significantly, as well.

The number of homes sold reflects only a 20% decrease in the last year, which again reinforces the trends we observed month by month:  that even as fewer homes were sold,  the homes that did tend to sell were the lower priced homes.  Hence the total dollar amount of sales dropped significantly more than the number of homes sold.

What does this say to someone considering listing their home today?   It says that now, more than ever, it’s important to price your home competitively if you want it to sell.  It says, along with additional analysis, that the value of your home has likely decreased in value since 2006 (unless you’ve made significant updates) and that the competition for a ready, willing and able home buyer has never been higher.

Homes continue to sell here at the Lake of the Ozarks.  That’s for sure.  But the expectations of successful home sellers have changed; and so I continue to say:   if you can wait to sell your home, I’d wait.  But if you really want to sell, or need to sell, it’s important to have your real estate agent give you a full and updated market analysis.

I welcome your comments, your individual inquiries  and would be happy to provide a market analysis for your home.

If you enjoyed this post and would like to see more as they are posted, subscribe here
to be notified of new ones by email. As always, your comments are welcomed below.

Author: | January 17th, 2009

This entry was posted on Saturday, January 17th, 2009 at 3:04 pm and is filed under Market Trends. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Leave a Reply

Name (required)

Email (will not be published) (required)

Website