Bright MLS has released their Residential Market Report for single family homes for the first quarter of 2019. In today’s podcast I will discuss the results for Delaware County Pennsylvania. If you would like information about this or any other County in the Delaware Valley, please contact me.
The report compares the current results to one-year ago, same quarter. As with all Real Estate statistics, two things are true. First, the performance within individual zip-codes can and will vary significantly from the overall County. Real Estate is local and results can vary from neighborhood to neighborhood and even block to block. There is no such thing as a “national” Real Estate market so, whether you may be looking to buy or sell, please contact me for details about your areas of interest. I can provide current information and keep you informed about the evolving market. Deciding whether it is the right time to sell or buy is a personal decision typically involving a number of variables. I posted an article on that topic on my web site AndrewWetzel.com that offers several ideas to consider.
My second point is that, unfortunately, all Real Estate statistics involving sold data is stale. While a sale may be settled or closed today, the real question is when was the offer negotiated? Typically sales take 45 to 60 days to close so the market today may be different. Up-to-date information is important!
As far as the statistics, 1099 properties were settled this year with an average “selling price” of $264,674 and a “median” selling price, meaning that half of the sales were higher and half were lower, of $200,000 compared to 1224 settled last year at an average price of $247,389 and a median price of $190,000. The CDOM or “cumulative days on the market” for settled properties dropped to 81 from 85. The underlying data shows a wide range of results among the 49 different municipalities in Delaware County.
Which number is more meaningful, median or average? We can debate that but what really matters is how your property or one that interests you compares to those appraised and settled with similar location, features and condition. Appraisers rely on nearby settled properties so average or median pricing loses some validity but may provide insight for both the short term and the long term.
What about the properties that did not sell? Many came off the market and remain unavailable. Houses may get showings without generating offers unless buyers think they are priced within the range of their perceived “worth”. Most property listings whose contracts are canceled or allowed to expire have asking prices considered high for their market and/ or they were poorly marketed, meaning that some buyers may not have known that a house was even available to purchase. Of course this may well depend on the ratio of buyer and sellers so there is more to this than raw statistics. If a market has a lot of inventory, some buyers may not be willing to even look at houses priced high compared to the rest of the market. While sellers may be open to negotiating their price, many never get the chance to do so. I will happy to discuss specifics with you.
It is worth noting that the weather, despite minimal snow, was somewhat harsh early in 2019 which slowed activity although that has changed in many markets. The overall economy is doing well with some adjustments here and there. Pushing statistics aside, what are you planning to do? Real Estate is generally a long-term investment unless you are looking to fix and flip it. There are opportunities out there. As with the stock market, it is very difficult to pick the best time to make a move. All you can do is get the best available information, determine what is in your best interests and then start the process. I am a phone call or email away and getting started is easy once you take action.
There is no time for inexperience, empty promises or false expectations!
Remember: HIRE WISELY. We are not all the same.
Andrew Wetzel's Musings 
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