What Happened in September?

Well, if August was vacation month, then everyone must have spent September focused on getting back to school and work.  Home sales slowed again this month, with both overall the Median Sale Price and the number of Homes Sold in the County going down over August.  But, that's part of the normal sales cycle for our local Real Estate Market.  September is always a slow down after the Summer market, so it's not too worrying.

Here are the overall statistics:

Single Family Home Sales Statistics

 September 2007 - All of Fairfield County
Median Sales Price: $527,000
# of Homes Sold: 549
Average Time on Market: 99 days

Some Good News - Inventory & Absorption Rates

The good news is that the average number of homes sold per month (absorption rate) remained almost level with an average of 463 homes sold per month through September, versus 465 homes sold per month through the end of August.  The rate is 29% lower than the number of homes sold per month for the first 9 months of 2007, which has been the trend most of this year.  However, in 2007 the drop in number of homes sold from August to September was 3% and this year it stayed steady, which is a good sign.

On the Inventory side, the number of homes actively for sale has remained almost level as well, with 5,463 homes currently for sale.  That's still almost 12 months of inventory, which means we're in a strong buyers' market.

Should You Stay or Should You Go?

All of the bad news in the media can make even the most optimistic person worry about whether or not now is a good time to buy or sell a home.  It really depends on many factors that are unique to each individual or family, such as:

• Do you have to (or want to) move right now?
• Are you in a stable job with stable income?
• How is your credit history?
• Do you have other debts (car loans, credit cards, etc.) that you can pay off first?
• Do you plan to stay in your next home for at least 3 years?

If the answers to most of those questions are positive, then you're likely a good candidate to buy a home, especially if you're currently renting.  Bargains are everywhere and buyers are snapping them up, which is why the median sales prices keeping going down in many towns. 

On the selling side, if you have:

• A desire (or need) to move (to downsize, buy a larger home or go to a different town or state)
• Enough equity in your home to be flexible about your sales price AND
• Your home will sell for at or below the median sales price for your town

Then you should seriously think about selling now.  You may get less for your current home than you would have in the past, but you'll also pay less for the house that you're buying so you're coming out ahead of the game.

Finally, if you're thinking about investing in Real Estate, now might be the right time to jump in and buy your first property.  There's a real need for rental properties (condos, apartments & houses) because of the people who can no longer qualify for a mortgage or have lost their homes due to foreclosure (theirs or their landlords).  You can buy the properties at much lower prices now and the mortgage rates for investment properties are still low.  But be warned - you need to have enough financial reserves to be able to cover all of the expenses on the rental property, and any unexpected maintenance, before buying the property.  Not only will many banks want to see that you have funds available before they give you a mortgage, but you'll have piece of mind knowing that if a tenant fails to pay rent or your property is vacant for any period of time, it won't be a burden on you financially.

As always, if you're thinking about buying or selling a home or just want to keep an eye on the market, feel free to call me at 203-952-4899; email me at Marcie@BersonTeam.com; or post your comments here on my blog.  It's my pleasure to help you any way I can.

Town by Town Single Family Home Sales Statistics

*Data compiled from listing information in the Greater Fairfield County CMLS entered as of 10/10/08.  Does not include private sales or sales listed in the Greenwich, Darien or New Canaan MLS services.  Always verify any information that is critical to your buying decision before acting.