Living in a resort town like Steamboat I get to meet a lot of interesting people from around the country that are really good at what they do. Some of them are also in real estate like me so it is great to compare notes with them and hear who things are around the country. I'm not calling bottom but I have seen strong signs of the things it takes to have a recovery all over the country from both the national news and agents I trust that really know their markets. Fortunately I am seeing many of the same things here in Steamboat Springs. Steamboat saw the effects of the recession 2-3 years later than the rest of country but seems to be closer to a year or so behind the recovery in many of the markets that our guests and owners come from. Even though we have relatively high levels of inventory there is relatively little room to build significantly more so people are taking this chance to secure their long terms goals and choose from some of the best homes at attractive prices.
We are starting to see more activity here in Steamboat, I have been very busy for about a year helping both buyers and sellers reach their goals and the overall market has started to post volume gains over the last 6 to 8 months. Dollar volume has doubled from year ago levels each of the past 4 months as sellers come closer to market with their list prices. Until about 6 months ago 80 plus % of our listings were priced at the peak levels and sometimes beyond so the few transactions that were happening required significant negotiation to come together. I have been fortunate to be able to help quite a few people find this right values and now the market is coming closer. There are opportunities out there, the key is determining what the pricing should be and reaching a deal that makes sense.
There are many great signs but to very clear I am not yet calling a recovery because there is some distressed property, some excess inventory to be worked through and plenty over overpriced homes. For the next year or two it will be key to understand the market in each segment, neighborhood and even down to the level of what is the situation with each individual property both that you are looking at and ones that are comparable to get the best feel for where pricing is going. Current comps are nice but knowing if there is something coming is very valuable. I have been doing this with good results so call me if you would like to know more about our market or want to see if your goals are within reach.
Speaking of other real estate markets I spent some time with Tania Hosmer from McLean, Virginia last week. McLean, VA is just outside of Washington, DC. She has become a friend over the last few years. Tania is a true professional that has deep market knowledge and really looks out for her client's best interests, two things I personally value. According to Tania's research over half of the market segments in McLean, VA have actually turned into Seller's markets and one is balanced. This is a great insight and the kind of thing that is good to know early before everyone reads it in the paper after it has happened in the market as a whole and prices go up. It was hard for me to believe but Tania has the data to prove it.
To see it for yourself go to Tania's McLean Real Estate blog and her insightful McLean Market Update that breaks down the market by price point and whether that segment is a buyers or sellers market based on sales and current inventory. Click on the link to her chart to see it for yourself. Thanks Tania, I appreciate any chance to learn something and you gave me a few good things.
To contact Jon Wade call 970-819-6930 or send him an email. Jon values your time and will answer your question without a sales pitch. For more of his Steamboat blog click back to the Steamboat Springs blog main page.
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