HAPPY NEW YEAR! 2013 is upon us! What a great time to look back at 2012 to see where the real estate market has been going.
Multiple news reports from 2012 indicated that real estate sale prices increased in 2012, inventory of available homes decreased, and the real estate market is on its way to a sellers’ market. This is great news for those who purchased homes in 2005-2007, have lost quite a bit of the equity in their home, and are waiting for the market to turn around before they sell. It is also good news for those who just want more for their home than current market trends would get them.
But real estate is very local. Have we seen these national trends show up in the town and village of Monroe, NY yet? Unfortunately, while there are some small signs of improvement, we did not see major improvements in 2012 in Monroe NY.
Average monthly sale prices have ranged from a low of $184K in March to a high of $384K in July, but the month of December saw us with averages of $212K in the village of Monroe, and $251K in the town. The last few months appear to be trending down. So is there any good news?
The good news is we are seeing a slight trending improvement. If we look at the last half of 2012 versus the first half, there is a definite improvement in sale prices.
Even if we remove the large upward blip in July, we’re still seeing slight upward movement, especially in the town of Monroe.
What does this mean in terms of 2013? Unfortunately, my magic fortune telling ball is on the fritz, but keeping a careful eye on the results over the next few months will indicate whether the town and village of Monroe are starting on an upward trend, or whether the 2012 general malaise will continue for slightly longer.
For buyers, it’s still a great time to buy. For sellers, the national market is, as a whole, turning around and the Monroe area just appears to be somewhat lagging behind, but Monroe NY is a great place to live and real estate prices will eventually rebound.
Stay tuned here for more information, and let me know if you have questions!