Let’s take a look at the real estate market. Currently there are 12 sales pending in the market overall, leaving 34 listings still for sale. The resulting pending ratio is 26.1% (12 divided by 46). So you might be asking yourself, that’s great… but what exactly does it mean? I’m glad you asked!
The pending ratio indicates the supply & demand of the market. Specifically, a high ratio means that listings are in demand and quickly going to contract. Alternatively, a low ratio means there are not enough qualified buyers for the existing supply.
Taking a closer look, we notice that the $600K – $900K price range has a relatively large number of contracts pending sale. We also notice that the $1.2M – $1.5M price range has a relatively large inventory of properties for sale at 9 listings. The average list price (or asking price) for all properties in this market is $1,405,835.
A total of 74 contracts have closed in the last 6 months with an average sold price of $1,032,587. Breaking it down, we notice that the $600K – $900K price range contains the highest number of sold listings.
Alternatively, a total of 7 listings have failed to sell in that same period of time. Listings may fail to sell for many reasons such as being priced too high, having been inadequately marketed, the property was in poor condition, or perhaps the owner had second thoughts about selling at this particular time. The $1.5M – $1.8M price range has a high number of off-market listings at 2 properties.
You might be wondering why average days on market (DOM) is important. This is a useful measurement because it can help us to determine whether we are in a buyer’s market (indicated by high DOM), or a seller’s market (indicated by low DOM). Active listings (properties for sale) have been on the market for an average of 89 days
Analysis of sold properties for the last six months reveals an average sold price of $1,032,587 and 34 days on market. Notice that properties in the $1.5M – $1.8M price range have sold quickest over the last six months. The recent history of sales can be seen in the two charts below. The average sold price for the last 30 days was $879,800 with an average DOM of 50 days.
Since the recent DOM is greater than the average DOM for the last 6 months, it is a negative indicator for demand. It is always important to realize that real estate markets can fluctuate due to many factors, including shifting interest rates, the economy, or seasonal changes.
Ratios are simple ways to express the difference between two values such as list price and sold price. In our case, we typically use the list-to-sale ratio to determine the percentage of the final list price that the buyer ultimately paid. It is a very common method to help buyers decide how much to offer on a property.
Analysis of the absorption rate indicates an inventory of 2.8 months based on the last 6 months of sales. This estimate is often used to determine how long it would take to sell off the current inventory of properties if all conditions remained the same. It is significant to mention that this estimate does not take into consideration any additional properties that will come onto the market in the future.
Contact Us for All of Your Bethesda Real Estate Needs in 2015
For expert guidance on the Bethesda, Maryland real estate market as a home buyer or home seller, make sure to contact us at The Estridge Group.
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Until next time,
Melinda
