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Health & Fitness

Middletown Home Prices Down 1%, Reports Realtor

The 2nd quarter statistics are in, and as of June 30th the median price of a single-family home in Middletown is down 1% compared to what it was a year ago. The change in the median price is one of the 4 key, objective indicators you should know if you’re following Middletown real estate. A decrease in the median price is a good sign for home buyers and a bad sign for home sellers.

The 2nd indicator is the number of homes that have sold so far year-to-date. Inn Middletown, there have been 9% fewer sales this year compared to the same 6 month period in 2013. A decrease in the number of sales indicates a decrease in demand, and lower demand normally results in lower prices in the near future. Another bad sign for home sellers.

The 3rd indicator is the number of homes that are listed for sale. Here I look at an average of the past 12 months, and I find that we’ve had 4% more listings in Middletown than we did one year ago. More listings indicates an increase in supply, and more supply also tends to result in lower prices in the near future because buyers have more choices.

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The last indicator is an important one: it’s the real estate absorption rate. This is a calculation of how long it would take to sell ALL of the homes currently listed for sale, assuming that homes continue to sell at the same rate as they have in the past 12 months. The reason that it’s so important is that it takes into account both supply and demand. For this indicator, it’s important to look at both the number itself and the change from one year ago. An absorption rate of 5 – 7 months is considered a “normal market”, more than 7 months is a “buyer’s market” and less than 5 months is a “seller’s market”. One year ago the Middletown absorption rate was 6.0 months, and currently it’s 5.9 months. Both numbers are within the range for a “normal market”, and there’s virtually no change from a year ago, so this indicator is neutral.

Here are the 4 objective indicators in tabular form:

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Middletown Home Sales, Jan 1 - Jun 30


                               2013   2014      Comment

Sales (Demand)       266     241   9% fewer homes sold.

Listings* (Supply)   284     294   4% more homes on market.

Months' Supply*       6.0      5.9   Similar demand vs. supply.
*based on the past 12 months

Median Sale $ $380,000 $375,000 1% lower median sale price.

 

The bottom line is that 3 of the 4 key real estate indicators are predicting lower Middletown home prices in the near future. If you’re considering selling a home in Middletown, you may not like this news, but you certainly need to be aware of it. I’ll be glad to go over the statistical information in more detail with you, so you can decide whether or not this is the right time to sell. I’ll give you an estimate of what your home is worth in the current “normal market”, and give you a detailed proposal for a marketing plan to sell your home as quickly as possible for as high a price as possible. No obligation, of course.

Call, text or email me!

Len

Leonard “Len” Dunikoski, GRI

REALTOR® Associate

Diane Turton Realtors – Rumson Office

8 West River Road

Rumson, NJ 07760

(732) 239-0739  (cell)    (732) 530-6686 (office)

ldunikoski@dianeturton.com

http://www.rumsonfairhavenhome.com

@ListWithLen

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