Summit County Real Estate Post Double Digit Gains in May

Real estate transactions posted another strong gain in May despite relatively tough comparisons. For the month, sales were up 18 percent in both number of transactions and dollar volume. That is on top of a May 2012 which itself had seen 22 percent and 25 percent gains in volume and dollars respectively. Transactions have now shown year over year gains in 13 of the last 14 months and dollars have increased in 10 of the last 11. Year to date, volume is up 21 percent and dollars up 18%. There is little doubt at this point that demand is clearly on the rise.
Despite the higher demand and relatively low inventories—down about 11% – price gains have been more selective. Year to date single family average selling prices are up 10% from this time last year but are still flat versus all of 2012 at $773,861. Multi-family housing has seen its year to date average sales price actually decline 6 percent to $337,944 versus a year ago
Once again we caution the “average selling prices” can be deceiving when measuring the performance of the market. This number is influenced as much by mix as by actual changes in property values. The hot spot in terms of volumes continues to sit in the sub $500,000 range where 64 percent of this year’s transactions have occurred. To test whether the lower average selling prices for multi-family housing was mix or actual value related we ran a time series of sales for several larger condo developments where like properties were sold over time. In all cases the trend of rising prices from 2004 to 2007 and falling prices from 2008 to 2011 was clear. However, beginning in 2011 prices in each case appeared to have stabilized. If you would like to see a trending chart for the condo complex where you own or are contemplating buying, email or call and I will gladly provide you a complimentary copy .