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More home sales, more condo sales, more dollar volume and a lower average sales price tell the story of real estate in September, according to sales data released this afternoon by the Ann Arbor Area Board of Realtors.
All of those markers are compared to September 2008.
And since the real estate market ground to a halt that month - across the U.S. and locally as the lending world imploded - the data may give a false sense of rebound as the third-quarter ends.
But Ann Arbor area Realtors say the pace of today’s activity means the local home and condo market should close the 2009 sales volume gap. At the end of the third quarter, it stood at over $133 million - thanks to sales totals of $472.5 million, or about 22 percent below the September 2008 year-to-date total of nearly $606 million.
“Because of the strength of the written business over the last couple of months, we will move ahead,” said Dawn Foerg, a manager at the Charles Reinhart Co.
But due to falling average prices - the average sale price in September fell to $183,344, down $5,430 from the same month last year - local Realtors are more likely to chart success in units sold rather than dollar volume.
“The average sales price is still affected by the number of foreclosures - and they still affect other prices,” said Ed Surovell, owner of Edward Surovell Realtors.
Home sales climbed 20 units over last September’s total, lifting the year-to-date unit count to 2,245. That trails 2008 by about 7 percent.
The condo market also showed a higher unit count, with 58 sales recorded this year compared to 38 in September 2008. The condo dollar volume actually grew to just under $7 million, compared to $5.85 million in 2008.
Year-to-date condo sales volume is $57.58 million, off 26 percent from 2008.
Condo numbers posted growth in August, too, a trend that may be driven in part by the first-time buyer credit, Foerg said.
The monthly snapshot of local activity includes:
• A 45 percent drop in the new home listings in the Ypsilanti area and a 47 percent drop in the new listings in the Lincoln schools.
• A 32 percent drop in new condo listings in Ann Arbor.
• About the same number of homes sold in Ypsilanti - 16 this September, 18 last year - but a $21,000 drop in the average sales price to $69,419 and a 42 percent drop in average days on market, which this year stood at 59.
• More homes sold in Ann Arbor this year: 78 compared to 59, and days on market dropped from 69 to 68. But the average list price fell to $260,231 from $287,861.
• The community with the highest average days on market to sell a house is Manchester, where six homes sold this September at an average price of $138,416. The homes were listed for an average 158 days, up from 107 in 2008.
“Activity was surprisingly strong for most of the summer and into the fall, but the strength doesn’t extent into the rural areas,” said Surovell.
He added: “We have areas where a good house sells quickly at close to full price and where there may be more than one offer.”
The overall market in the fourth quarter, Foerg emphasized, should look dramatically different from 2008, as today’s activity turns into sales by year-end.
“The last three months of 2008 were the worst we’ve see in a long time,” she said, “… (and) we’re having a much stronger fall.”
Paula Gardner is Business Director of AnnArbor.com. Contact her by email or phone at (734) 623-2586. Follow her on Twitter.
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