November activity maintains the momentum

November real estate activity in Summit County saw its normal seasonal dip in November but continued to post healthy gains over the previous year period. During the month, there were 170 total transactions, down meaningfully from the 241 of October but still up 10% from 154 a year ago. Dollar volume, at $80.1 million, was also down from the prior month’s $110.8 million but was up an impressive 20% from the 2012 period. In fact, for both the number of transactions and for the total dollar volume, we have to go back to November of 2007 to find higher numbers.
Year to date, transaction volumes are up 23% to 1,439 while dollar sales are up 19% to $819.1 million, their best showings since 2008 and 2007 respectively.
The under $300,000 price point continued to dominate the transaction count accounting for 35.8% of all residential sales. However, the $400-500k price point also showed some strength representing 18.2% of the months sales versus 11.7% for the prior 10 months. There were seven sales in excess of $1 million but none for more than $2 million.
Year to date, average selling prices for single family properties are down about 2% from year end 2012 levels to $748,476. Multi-family housing has seen a similar percentage decline to $343,215 while raw land pricing has actually risen by 6%. Keep in mind ASPs are influenced by both home values and the mix of sales. For given subdivisions, particularly at the high-end, ASPs seem to be rising, albeit, modestly. With volumes rising and inventories falling about 20% in the last two years, prices are bound to be on the rise soon.