To be a well-informed homebuyer,
seller or investor, it is important to understand the current real estate
market conditions. Part of our job is making sure our clients have the
information necessary to make the best real estate decisions possible. To help,
we’ve put together a report on the real estate market conditions in St. Charles
County, Missouri for the first half of 2018.
Number of Homes for Sale
This first chart depicts the number
of active real estate listings by month over the past 3 years. As you can see, late
spring and early summer have the most homes listed for sale. In 2018, the
number of homes listed for sale in January was 1047, while currently there are
about 1375 homes listed for sale in the St. Charles County area of Missouri.
Also notice that while summer is a busy selling season, there are still a LOT of homes for sale in the middle of winter. So you can buy or sell a home any time of year.
Also notice that while summer is a busy selling season, there are still a LOT of homes for sale in the middle of winter. So you can buy or sell a home any time of year.
But when you compare the number of homes for sale in the first half of the year to the two previous years, you can see that 2018 has fewer homes on the market. These conditions point to a sellers market, where there are a similar number of homebuyers looking for homes and a smaller number of homes listed for sale.
Average Sales Price
With a similar number of homebuyers
and fewer homes listed, the average sales price of residential property in St.
Charles County, Missouri has increased. However unlike 2016 and 2017, where
prices increased every month, 2018 has had fluctuations. This may be a sign
that prices are leveling or at least not climbing as quickly. If you’ve been
thinking about listing a residential property for sale, now is a great time.
Percentage of Original Price Received for a Residential Property
While sellers like to get the most
money they can for their property, buyers want to pay the least they can for a
home. Through the negotiation process the price received for residential real
estate is often a little less than the original price the property was listed.
The first half of 2018 shows that with more competition for residential
properties, sellers are netting more money for their homes. Look closer at this
chart and you’ll notice that homebuyers who purchase in the first quarter of
the year (during the winter months) are more likely to get a better deal on
their home purchase.
Days On Market
A decreasing number of days on
market are another indicator of a sellers market. This points to competition
among homebuyers - as there is often more than one buyer looking at and bidding
on each home. Homebuyers are sometimes learning this the hard way, when they
try to see a home for sale and find out that it already has an accepted
contract.
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