Bucks County, PA Market Update

With the so-called spring market, upon us, I wanted to take an opportunity to review some market trends and statistics for our area.  I do a complete review and analysis, of all pertinent statistics on a monthly basis, for all the major markets in Bucks County, that I work in.  As I have noted in previous posts,  Bucks County has held up reasonably well, compared with other areas in the country.  Real estate markets are extremely local.  Even within the communities that I serve, in Bucks County, there  are always statistical differences in the real estate market, from month to month.

Click here to view the Inventory by month

Lets take a look at where things were, at the end of February.  Please keep in mind, that looking only at January and February of 2008, does not necessarily create a trend.  About in the middle of April, I will have complete first quarter results, so we will be able to see a true trend, for the first quarter of the year. 

Click here to view the Pending Inventory by month

Generally speaking, January was actually a strong month, compared with January of 2007.  In virtually every market area of Bucks County, February was generally lighter than last year.  As a result, the volume of closed units for most parts of Bucks County was lower than the prior year, through February, as compared with 2007.  This should come as no surprise, since we all recognize that it is a buyers market.  More houses for sale, and fewer buyers to buy those homes, results in a buyers market.

Click here to view the Sold Inventory by month

As an example of the differences from market to market, closed units in Lower Makefield Township are off 17.5%, Upper Makefield Township is off 11.1% and Solebury is off 21%.  Buckingham is flat and Northampton is down 9.4%.

More importantly, inventory changes from January are up in Upper Makefield, Solebury and Northampton, while Lower Makefield, Newtown and Buckingham, actually saw a decrease in inventory from January levels.  If you compare current inventory levels to February of 2007, Lower Makefield, and Buckingham are down, while Newtown, Upper Makefield, Solebury and Northampton are all up, meaning those townships had more homes on the market at the end of February 2008, than at the end of February 2007.

Interestingly, the average asking price of homes in inventory as of February 2008, in all of Bucks County, is slightly higher than it was in February of 2007.  I believe that there is still somewhat of a disconnect between market realities, and what sellers are anticipating selling for.  Unfortunately, I think there are times when we, as realtors, play a part in that by providing false expectations.  There is no question that it is a tough market, for sellers.

The last important statistic, is the sold to asking price ratio.  We continue to see slightly increasing discounts off the asking price, ranging from 4 to 11%.  Overall, buyers are achieving approximately a 6-7% discount range from the asking price in our principal markets.

The important observation from all of this is that the market remains challenging for sellers.  It is absolutely critical that a home be priced correctly in order to sell.  It is still possible to sell quickly in this market.  I recently had a home on the main street coming into Yardley, that sold for about the asking price,  in a couple of days.  If you are looking to buy, it does appear to be a great time for that.  Lots of inventory, motivated sellers, and low mortgage rates. 

I will update further, once we have the complete first quarter results.