As national news reports continue to show an improving housing market one day, and a declining or flat market the next it’s hard to really know what’s going on here in Astoria. A look at the April numbers shows buyer demand on the rise, and prices remaining mostly flat both for the month of April and year to date.
Astoria home sales rise 11.8% for the year
In our relatively small coastal market it’s not uncommon to see peaks and valleys when looking at units sold from one month to the next. This makes it a little tricky to figure out if a peak is the start of a trend, or just a peak. Most housing experts would agree that while the market tries to find the natural bottom we will have small bumps from one month to the next.
So far homes sales have risen 11.8% this year in Astoria, and April sales alone were up over 16% compared to a year ago. I could speculate as to why, but from what I’m hearing from home buyers most feel that the market has mostly bottomed and buyers don’t want to chance missing out on very low interest rates.
Pending homes sales rise a whopping 79.4%
Wow.
That’s the G rated version of my reaction when I reviewed the YTD pending home sale numbers for Astoria. I knew the market was pretty active and it ‘feels’ like pending sales and buyer activity is way up but I had no idea how much. Pending home sales for April alone rose over 90% compared to last year. Incredible.
I don’t normally like to gauge the strength of our market by pending sales as a number of them don’t actually close for various reasons. However seeing a surge like this tells me strong closed sale numbers will be coming over the next 2 months.
What is means to you
For buyers the strong closed and pending home sale numbers should you the market is continuing to find it’s natural bottom, and good times won’t last forever. I don’t think you need to worry that prices will noticeably rise anytime soon, but if this trend continues the inventory will being to return to more normal levels… Meaning fewer homes to choose from and increased competition from other buyers. Possibly more multiple offer situations on traditional re-sales like we’ve seen on many of the bank owned properties. But again, I’m in no way saying you need to buy something today. Watch interest rates and if they begin to climb it’s time to get serious.
For sellers there is mixed news in these numbers. Stronger than normal buyer demand is great news for anyone with a home to sell. If your home has been on the market during the past few months and you haven’t had much interest you may need to review your marketing strategy and ensure there’s no serious issues with the home that turn buyers off. If you are planning to sell your home this year keep in mind that not only are there a lot of buyers out there but the Astoria market usually peaks in June and begins to slide from mid-summer on. If you’re in a position where you need to sell this is the best opportunity you’ve had in a while.
