Thank you for taking the time to read this week’s Friday Figures! All information from the GLVAR MLS system. It’s what you and your Realtor need to know when touring, making offers, or listing property this weekend.

Summary: Available units are down an insignificant amount to 12260. It would not be surprising for availabilities to start rising as both private and institutional sellers try to take advantage of buyer interest. Bank owned properties are coming into the market, coincidentally raising the number of vacant available units. The only soft spot in our market is high rise condos, which continue to move slowly due to price and financing issues. There is new hope for bargain hunters, with rises in inventory in low price categories. Pending sales continue to rise, but over 7000 of those are short sales at risk of never closing. Median prices remain stable on all categories, a good sign when Forbes is still reporting our prices are in “free fall” based on year-over-year Zestimates. Well, year-over-year, our availabilities are in free fall too!

Available Listings: There are 9423 single family homes (down), with a median price of $180,000 (unchanged), $93 per square foot (unchanged), with median time on market of  91 days (down). In addition, there are 2836 condominiums and townhomes (down), with a median price of $115,000 (unchanged), $97 per square foot (up), and median time on market of 112 days (down significantly). 663 (23%) of those units are in high-rise communities, with a median price of $450,000 (unchanged) and median 195 days on market (up). Of all available listings, 4227 are owner occupied (down), 1402 are tenant occupied (down), and 6632 are vacant (up). On August 11 of last year we had 20727 available units: 16151 houses and 4576 condos/townhomes.

Distressed Properties: Of available listings, there are 4895 short sales (down) and 2628 bank-owned properties (up). Median price for a short sale is $135,888 (down barely); median price on a bank-owned home is $116,000 (down slightly). Short sale listings, whether available or contingent, must be considered at risk of becoming bank owned properties. The 4702 non-distressed properties for sale (up) had a median price of $338,000, down slightly. Last year we had 5228 bank owned properties and 6262 short sales, with 9237 non-distressed sellers.

Single Family Home Prices: Of available listings, 245 under $50,000; 1432 between $50,000-$100,000; 3743 between $100,000-$200,000; 2677 between $200,000-$500,000; 818 between $500,000-$1,000,000; and 667 over $1,000,000. Note the rise in units available under $200,ooo.

Condo and Townhome Prices: 418 under $50,000; 901 between $50,000-$100,000; 793 between $100,000-$200,000; 455 between $200,000-$500,000; 194 between $500,000-$1,000,000; 130 over $1,000,000.

Contingent and Pending listings: Of the 13815 properties in the process of being purchased, 11196 are single family homes with median price of $143,476 (down), $77 per square foot (unchanged), 54 days on market median (down 10%); 2619 are condominiums or townhomes with median price of $69,900 (unchanged), $64 per square foot (unchanged), 53 days days on market median (down). Final negotiated sales prices are confidential until closing. Of those, 7263 were short sale (up), 5187 were bank owned (up), and 1327 were non-distressed sales (up). Last year we only had 6996 pending and contingent listings: 6146 houses and 806 condos/townhomes.

Recently sold: 684 properties closed in the last week. Of this week’s closings, 123 properties were on the market less than a week and 375 on the market 30 days or less; 46 were on the market more than 6 months (7 over a year); median time on market dropped to 24 days (median time on market including the contingent period also dropped 10% to 86 days). Short sales accounted for 66 of them, there were 480 bank owned properties, and 138 non-distressed sales. Median sales price remained at $125,000 while median list price rose slightly to $124,900. 4193 have closed in the last 30 days and 27448 have closed since the first of the year. At this time last year we had 2701 sales in the last 30 days and only 15071 sold year-to-date.

Rentals: 5164 homes, townhomes, and condos were available for rent in the Valley according to the MLS system. There are 610 contingent leases and 1933 leases signed in the last 30 days. Last years we had 4358 rentals available and 1577 leased.

Other information: The fact that we have this many pending, contingent, and sold listings in an environment of record unemployment is a very good sign indeed. Hopefully people will get back to work right about the time that more inventory comes online! Banks are delaying foreclosures (I’ve seen both data and know individual cases), but that won’t last forever. Another “is it good news or not” item, it would seem that our local homeless population is declining. And a tip for people in bankruptcy: have your lawyer demand information from your mortgage lender in writing! They might do something that actually helps you (by accident, of course).

Need more information or help with your real estate needs? Call me today at 702-727-7842 or email bmagnus@bridgetmagnus.com. Although this information is available to all GLVAR members through the MLS system, this article was written and copyright by Bridget Magnus, and is her sole property.