Home Sale Statistics
The Nation Association of REALTORS, in their April monthly Wisconsin Housing Report, reported sales of existing homes fell 18.5% in March compared to the same time last year. One has to be cautious when looking at these statistics because the stats are being compared with the same time last year when the home buyer tax credit was offered. This really is not an apples to apples comparison. Existing home prices in the Northeast dropped 11.2%. It is important to remember that real estate markets are local. The unemployment figures in Door County for the month of March improved slightly, but will improve largely as the summer approaches with the seasonal activity of the vacation market. Those who are buying recognize the opportunity to capitalize on the excellent interest rates and the fact that our market sale prices have decreased approximately 5 to 10%. My personal activity is greater than the years’ before, and I anticipate a much better year in 2011 than 2010. While I remain cautiously optimistic, if one is priced correctly and teamed with a REALTOR with an aggressive marketing program, those combinations will obtain the Contract for Sale. The next and final step is getting it closed. So when you are looking for a REALTOR to select, ask the REALTOR how many Contracts (accepted Offers) they have had this year AND how many of those contracts closed. My contract to contract closed ratio, year to date is 100%.
