Market Stats Update - July 2011

Since it is mid-year already, I thought I'd take a comprehensive look at the market.  Remember that until this time last year (2010) the Federal First-Time Home Buyers Credit was in place.  Therefore, we might expect that some of the Volume of homes sold might be down this year in comparison. 

This is a comparison of Jan - July 30, 2011 to the same period of time in 2010. 

Marquette Schools Areas:
Units sold: 154, down 10%.
Median Price: $152,950., up 5%. 
Days On Market: Equal

Over 250K
Units sold: 30, up 50%.
Median Price: Basically equal
Days On Market: DOWN from 176, to 102.

Inventory:  Currently there are 244 active listings in this area.  This represents about an 11 month inventory.  In the above 250,000. range, there are 90 active listings, representing about a 21 month inventory. 

The Marquette School District areas continue to look very stable.  Even though the current median price is a bit above the median in July 2010, $152,000. is actually the exact number for our normal end of year median.  The higher-end market looks to be coming back nicely.  

Chocolay/Sands area:
Units sold: 51, 11% increase.
Median Price: $142,500., down 14% (but small sample size may effect)
Days On Market: UP from 82 to 127.

Over $250K:
Units sold: 7, up by one.
Median Price: too small of a sample to be accurate. 
Days On Market: DOWN from 288 to 162. 

Chocolay and Sands areas are consistently very stable.  Though the median price appears to be dropping, this is a small sample so I dont put much credence behind that right now. 

Negaunee areas:
Units sold: 43, down only slightly.
Median Price: $89,000.  Down by about 13% but a small sample size. 
Days On Market: DOWN from 119 to 103. 

Over $250K:
There were only 2 homes sold in Negaunee City or Negaunee Township in the past 7 months in this price range, and this is the same as last year at this time.  The median price is also about the same as last year.   I did not report on the DOM because its not picking up some of the data correctly, so the number is inaccurate. 

Ishpeming Areas:
Units sold: 49, equal.
Median Price: Up by about 18%
Days On Market: DOWN from 159 to 69

Over $250K:
Only one home sold over $250K in each of these years.  Median price looks similar, and it looks like the sale this year was on the market for a much shorter period of time than last year. 

Good signs for a rebound for Ishpeming, as these same areas saw about a 25% decrease in median sales price in the preceeding 2 years. 

ALL OF MQT COUNTY:
Units sold: 298, down about 14%.  (Likely from the First Time Buyers Credit last year.)
Median Price: $120,000., up about 3.5%
Days On Market: Down slightly from 119 to 98.

Over $250K:
Units sold: Up from 23 to 35, or about 50% increase. (Most of all of these sales were in Mqt. Schools.)
Median Price: Up slightly.
Days On Market: DOWN from 182 to 99.

Question:  "Whats the Foreclosure and Short Sale activity in Marquette COUNTY?"
Fifty (50) units sold since Jan 1.  45 Foreclosures and only 5 Short Sales.  Though our area has not been hit like other parts of the country, I believe that this number may be low because some agents have not utilized the fields available to identify these sales in the MLS software.

In general -- our market once again appears to be a VERY STABLE market.  Overall the median sale prices are holding if not increasing a bit.  Days on Market in most cases are decreasing, meaning quicker sales.  Units sold are up and down depending upon the area, but this is the one number that is most affected by government incentive programs that were inflating this number last year.  Our higher end market is trending in a positive manner, though inventory numbers for higher end homes are still high. 

Please contact me if you have any market questions, and/or any general real estate needs.