Greenville Homes Priced Under $150,000 Not Classified As Buyer's Market
We hear Greenville, SC real estate markets referred to as "buyer markets" or "seller markets" but what makes a market good for buyers or good for sellers. The National Association of Realtors® classifies markets based on absorption rates and inventory as follows:
0-5 months = Sellers Market, 5-7 months = Even/Split Market, 7+ months = Buyer’s Market
So what is an absorption rate and what does the 0-5, 5-7, and 7+ months mean? The number of months represents the number of months of inventory on the market. The number of months of inventory is determined by the absorption rate. The absorption rate is determined by taking the number of sold listings for any criteria (price range, city, subdivision, or a mixture) and dividing it by the amount of months (12 for a year or 9 for January to September). You can find the amount of inventory then by dividing the absorption rate number by the amount of active listings.
For instance, lets say that it is August in a local Greenville subdivision and it has 4 homes on the market and 16 have sold since January. This makes an average of 2 homes selling every month and means that there is a 2 month supply in the subdivision. When looking at absorption rates for the entire Greenville area as a whole, it reveals some interesting facts when keeping the definition of a buyer's and seller's market in mind.
Here are some recent Greenville Area real estate statistics:
•Listing Price: $0 - $150K
–Active Listings: 2639
–Sold Listings: 3083
–3083 / 8 mths = 385/mth (Absorption Rate)
–2639 / 385 = 6.85 (Months of Inventory)
–Avg DOM: 83
•$150K - $300K
–Active Listings: 2732
–Sold Listings: 2399
–2399 / 8 = 300/mth (Absorption Rate)
–2732 / 300 = 9.11 (Months of Inventory)
–Sold DOM: 95
•$300K - $500K
–Active Listings: 1123
–Sold Listings: 565
–565 / 8 = 71/mth (Absorption Rate)
–1123 / 71 = 15.82 (Months of Inventory)
Sold DOM: 110
•$500K - $1Million
–Active Listings: 638
–Sold Listings: 174
–174 / 8 = 21.5/mth (Absorption Rate)
–638 / 21.5 = 29.67 (Months of Inventory)
–Sold DOM: 125
•$1Million +
–Active Listings: 144
–Active Solds: 14
–14 / 8 = 1.75/mth (Absorption Rate)
–144 / 1.75 = 82.3 (Months of Inventory)
Sold DOM: 109
These statistics show that Greenville is in a buyer's market in every category except one. The homes priced at $150,000 and below are not in a buyer's market. According the the NAR's® definitions of markets, that price range is an "even/split market." What does this mean? Seller's under $150,000's can expect a better market than those with higher prices and buyers cannot expect the luxury of a buyer's market under $150,000. Seller's under the $150,000's still have to keep things in perspective though since they are not in a seller's market either.
Market Facts For Greenville SC Real Estate
The real estate market as a whole is experiencing a correction right now and coming down off of very high prices in some cities. How does this affect the Greenville, SC Real Estate Market though? Is the market bad in Greenville just because it is bad in some cities across the country. I would like to take a look at the facts and let you decided what you think. Below are numbers for single family homes for the Greenville area.
Average Sales price from January till now vs. Last Year Same Time:
Greenville Area - Up 2% (Keller Williams - Up 5% and Greenville down a little from earlier this year)
Amount of Sold Homes from January till now vs. Last Year Same Time:
Greenville Area - Down 12%
Average List to sales price from January till now vs. Last Year Same Time:
Greenville Area - 97%
Average Days on Market from January till now vs. Last Year Same Time:
Greenville Area - Up 8% (Keller Williams DOM 22% Less Than Greenville Area Average)
Amount of Homes for Sale
Greenville Area - Up 7%
So what do these numbers tell us? Overall it is a buyers market but at the same time hardly anything to worry about. Unfortunately, I hear from people in the Greenville area who believe the media hype and think that the market is terrible and worst possible conditions. This is just not the case. It is a buyer's market overall but there are mixed signals. Prices are still going up and list to sales price is still good at 97% (of course if you put your home on the market too high, your list to sales price will be much less). At the same time, single family homes supply is up 7% from last year and amount of homes sold is down. This extra supply is what tips the scales to being a buyer's market.
We have to keep the facts of the Greenville Real Estate market in mind when looking to buy or to sell.
If I'm a buyer, I can't expect to get the home of my dreams at 20% off of the asking price. The numbers show 3% (keeping in mind that every seller and situation is unique). I also can't expect prices to be far less than last years. I can expect to have a large supply of homes as possibilities depending on my needs.
If I am a seller, my house has to stand out from the competition even more than it would have last year because of the greater supply. We do this with pricing and staging. No matter how many homes are on the market, there will always be those that sell quickly and for top dollar. These are the ones that are priced right and staged right. Case in point, this last week I represented two purchasers that made offers on homes and other buyers made offers at the same time, on the same home in both cases. Lots of supply out there but the homes that were priced right and staged right went fast and for top dollar because of the multiple offers and because they were staged better than the competition.
Pricing, Staging, and exposure is so important. Just let me know if you want to learn more about how these factors can sell your home or if you would like help in obtaining the best possible home on the market for you.
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