Of all the things that impact the housing market in any region, inventory may be the most important. The number of properties available for sale is what drives a market being dubbed “buyer’s” or “seller’s”. As with any other commodity, if there is much more on the shelves than buyers in the aisles, prices are impacted.

Unlike the price of apples, though, when a community has too much housing inventory, the impact can be widely felt. After all, properties whose value drops  will be taxed less. (You can read how property taxes are calculated in Guilford County here.) While lower taxes sounds great for the homeowner, lower tax revenues across a large area mean drastic changes for the entire community.

At any rate, tracking the housing inventory in Greensboro shows what everyone probably knows: There’s a great many properties for sale. As of June 5th, per our local Multiple Listing System (the database all properties listed by area Realtors) showed there are 3304 residential properties on the market. These include both ‘active’ and ‘pending’ listings. I include those units whose sales are pending because until they close, they’re not sold. And there has been many a fumble twixt contract and key exchange.

Compared with the same week last year, inventory is up. This week last year there were 3024 homes listed.

At the same time, the average list price is down from the same week last year. $222,871 this year versus $244,812 last year.

These prices are averages across all property types, across all zip codes. The ‘price of apples’ in some zip codes is decidedly more robust than in others:

Of course, some of those 3304 listings are indeed slated to close. Keeping a good thought towards that, the break down of active/pending listings in property types is this:

And active/pending by zip code is this:

Sadly, there is a portion of these listings that are foreclosures. The breakdown of the percentage of foreclosures in the overall numbers follow:

Eventually, there will be more buyers and fewer available properties. Until then, maybe we should get used to applesauce.

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If you have questions, comments or a good joke to share shoot me an email.  I’m a full time Realtor®, I love what I do and would be thrilled to hear from you.

* All data from Triad Multiple Listing Service (MLS) and is only as good as the information entered, which is done by humans, who make errors. The information is only for those residential zip codes for Greensboro and does not include the surrounding communities.

Some days it just feels good to be here. And by here, I mean sitting in a lovely bookstore cafe, watching engaged people reading, laughing, figuring out the world’s problems. And sometimes the world outside is an alright place to be as well.

Granted that over the last couple of years things haven’t been much fun. From fiscal shenanigans in billion dollar corporations to photos of innocent wildlife covered in gooey oil in the Gulf of Mexico to having to cry through the series finale of “Lost” – it’s been tough out there!

But Greensboro area has gotten some cheery news of late:

• American Express has chosen Guilford County for its new data center, a coup indeed. And with IBM’s data center to the east of us and both Google  and Apple data centers to the west of us, The Old North State just may grow to be one of the most wired places around.
• Vitacost.com is adding 250 jobs at its Lexington call center
• And our wonderful Children’s Museum has an edible schoolyard! Whilst this is not going to be featured on CNBC, it’s an honor as it’s the only one licensed in the country.

Things are still tough for many, but a few folks will be getting hired, some spirits will be lifted and our next generation will be learning the joys of learning that veggies don’t actually grow inside shrink wrap.

So, be of good cheer.

I’m not trendy, but I know a trend when I see one. And there is a definite trend in the foreclosure listing activity in Greensboro.

It’s a downward trend, and that’s good. In order for the real estate market to rebound, there must be a reduction in inventory overall, and in the number of foreclosures specifically. That’s because foreclosures are the real estate equivalent of single celled organisms – not really productive in the grand scheme of things, taking energy the environment and are often slimy.

And I mean that literally. Some of these places look like they’ve been rode hard and hung up wet.

So, the first step towards economic evolution and advancement is to get these distressed properties off the market. And that’s what appears to be happening.

Looking at 12-week rolling periods, the week ending 3/1/09 has the lowest total since I started tracking, which was the beginning of September 2008.

That’s the first bit of good news.

The second is that, of the 146 properties listed in the last 12 weeks, the fewest yet are still on the market (comparing to other 12 week periods) and more are closed or pending than other periods.

Not only that, but of ALL the foreclosures listed since 9/8/08,  nearly 2/3 are closed or under contract..

This is a trend – unlike botox injections – behind which I can get.

[NOTE: It has been requested that I include numbers for  Summerfield, a 'bedroom' community north of Greensboro in Guilford County. I appreciate the suggestion and will start compiling the data and will post as soon as I have done so.]

For those who like to see the numbers for your zip code, here you go:

As always, whether the news is good or bad, you’ll see it here.

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If you have questions, comments or a good joke to share shoot me an email.  I’m a full time Realtor®, I love what I do and would be thrilled to hear from you.

* All data from Triad Multiple Listing Service (MLS). Weekly fluctuations of the numbers can happen as the data is impacted by the promptness of input by members, properties that are temporarily withdrawn from the market, etc.,

December is upon us (Yikes!) and November 2008 is history. What do we have to show for it in regards to real estate sales*  here in Greensboro and the surrounding communities in Guilford County?

Looky:

There are couple of outliers showing here, like the very low Days on Market for the very high Average Sales Price for the Stoney Creek Community. There was one property that closed, and it was on the market only 8 days (congrats, Stoney Creek homeowner, whoever you are!)

The overall numbers for Guilford County are:

• Total Closed Properties: 197
• Average Closed Price:  $160,685
  
• Average Days on Market:  96

And how does this compare to last November? Let’s look, shall we?

The overall numbers for Guilford County for November 2007 are:

• Total Closed Properties: 465
  
• Average Closed Price:  $180,342
• Average Days on Market:  89

Frankly, I’d rather look at November 2007′s numbers than 2008′s. But this is reality, not whatever dimension certain extreme northern state governors occupy, so we must face facts. Fewer properties closed last month than the same month one year ago. And for a lower average sales price. But still, properties did indeed sell. About 48% fewer, but still. (Now, if only the membership of the Realtor®’s association would drop by the same percentage. But I digress…)

What’s a homeowner to do?

If you don’t have to sell right now, don’t. Many folks like to “test the waters” to see what their house will bring. It’ll only hurt your feelings. Sit tight for a few months at least.

If you do need to sell, get with a good real estate agent in an established company – one with resources to market your property to the fullest and with sufficient staff and agents to make appointments as plentiful as possible. (It can be a challenge for small companies to have staff available to make showing appointments with you and if agents can’t show your house they can’t sell your house).

Then look at the numbers realistically. Properties do sell. But they need to be priced properly, clean, free of odors – let a fresh nose sniff around for you – and ready to be shown at a moment’s notice.

Finally, don’t take it personally if someone ‘low balls’ you on an offer. Once you list your house it ceases being your home and becomes a product for sale. Thick skin is required.

If you’re a buyer – have at it. There’s inventory, great rates on mortgages and plenty of people who want to sell you their house.

Now, after looking at those numbers, please excuse me as I need another cup of coffee – or something.

*All information per MY interpretation of Triad MLS (Multiple Listing Service) data and is decidedly unproved and unscientific.