Fewer for sale signs a good sign

Paul Sieving is a Realtor® with Good & Company Realty, a former Director and MLS Chair of NCAOR, was Board Chair of the Grass Valley Chamber of Commerce in 2004, and has served our community as a real estate professional for 12 years. Comments, questi

Residential listings down since 2010, bringing stability to market

In many past columns, we have focused on sales volume, median prices and the effect of distressed sales on our local market. We have established the connection between distressed sales and median price and noted certain positive trends in our local market relative to California and the U.S. as a whole.

A colleague mentioned the other day that our local housing inventory is lower than it has been in some time. A close look at the data for the past three years confirms this and establishes yet another positive force in our local market. Our local professionals are aware that we have more than our share of demand and that it is sometimes a challenge to find what our clients are looking for with somewhat limited supply.

October is the last month for which the inventory data have been made available, so we will compare figures for Nevada County for October 2009-2011.

My colleague was correct. Both total residential (combined single family, condo, mobile/manufactured) and total single family inventory are down nearly 25% year over year since October 2010.

In previous columns, it’s been reported that our monthly unit sales volume has risen back to levels not seen since late 2005, largely fueled by the flood of bargain priced REO and Short Sale properties. As a percentage of inventory, REO/Short Sales have been pretty steady at about 25-30% while accounting for approximately 50% of sales for the past two years. While the level of distressed sales has been a factor in the continued decline in prices, we have seen prices level off in the first nine months of 2011.

In the statewide and national markets, it’s a challenge to see a clear trend due to the often manipulated reporting by some outlets, yet we hear of continued moderate declines in many markets.

Locally, we are blessed by a uniquely high quality of life and an increasingly global exposure as a destination-type luxury market. Not to mention as a refuge from an increasingly stressful and dangerous urban environment as our nation faces a crisis of unprecedented significance.

This translates directly to Demand, and with a shrinking Supply, to Firm Prices.

We have people in our office looking for a place to call home and not enough inventory to meet the demand. If you have been waiting for a relatively stable market to list your property, so you would not have to chase falling prices, the last several months of market data indicate that we have arrived.

Now, don’t everyone call at once! We still want to keep a handle on Supply, so that our high Demand will continue to give us Firm Prices.

Let’s be like the banks (in just this one way) and put the inventory on the market a little bit at a time.