Chandler saw a change in the median sales price of $314,950 in October, up nearly $25,000 over last year. Home sales volume was in line with last year’s totals, coming in at 362 units vs. 367. The average price per square foot price was $171, up from $157 last year. Average days on market was identical at 33.
Homes that closed are selling for 98.2% of listed/asking price, indicating little to no negotiating room, especially right when the home goes on the market.
Current active listing inventory is 615 homes, with 394 under contract at a median sales price of $329,450 and an average days on market of 26. The median list price is $384,990 with a square foot price of $173 indicates that many homes still on the market are much larger in size. With a 1.7 month supply of homes in the city, we remain in a strong seller’s market, however we are inching towards a balanced market with seasonality and higher interest rates at play. The large gap in asking price vs. what homes are under contract for shows that homes in the higher price ranges are not only taking longer to sell, but they are also making up a large portion of what is now on the market.
With the number of home sales down over the last few months compared to last year, we should continue to see a lower volume of home sales through our holiday season. Although it is very much a seller’s market and homes under the $350,000 mark are moving quickly. Buyers looking above this range are far fewer in quantity and much more discerning/particular about scouring their options before pulling the trigger.
With few exceptions, appraisals are coming in to support sales prices.
Attractive interest rates, healthy employment levels, and low delinquency/foreclosure rates indicate that our market is strong, although rates are expected to continue to climb in 2019, thus softening the buying pace. Prices should climb moderately next year, but not at the unsustainable levels we saw in ’17 and ’18.
Closing cost assistance and home repairs are still being negotiated from sellers. Rarely are homes being sold in ‘as-is’ condition with no repairs being done.
The distress factor, which consists of short sales and foreclosures, fell from 2.2% to less than 1% . Currently less than 1% of Active listings fall into this category, and 3% of all homes under contract (includes homes that can take months for bank approval, and “stack up” in the pipeline as a result).
MARKET COMMENTARY: There is much evidence and little doubt pointing towards our market starting to slow as the Holidays approach, and higher rates than we have seen in the preceding 2 years.
