BUYERS:  would you like to have some statistics on the market in your area?

SELLERS:  do you want to know what market conditions are like BEFORE you list? Or to find out WHY your home is not selling and how to fix that problem?

• If you are in the San Diego County area and want this information, just let me know and I will get it for you
• If you are out of the area, let me know where you are and I can find someone to help you obtain this information (or as the agent you are working with)

You don't have to be a statistics fanatic to want to this information. WHY?

• Because an informed consumer can make the best decision regarding a purchase or the listing price on their home
• If you don't know what is going on in the market, how will you know that the home you wish to buy is priced correctly, or what you should reasonably offer?
• If you are selling, how can you possibly decide on the price to list your home at TO SELL QUICKLY and FOR TOP DOLLAR if you have no clue about the market and what comparable homes are selling for

Here is just a sampling of some things you might want to know. And the information can be in the form of a table, a graph, or simply a written summary of the market.

The graph is for the inventory in Carlsbad over the last 6 months.

Here is a table of summary statistics for Carlsbad for February:

AS OF FEB. 28, 2007	ATTACHED HOMES	DETACHED HOMES
Active	221	413
Sold in February 07 / February 06	23 / 30	45 / 77
Sold in Last 6 Months	200	393
Sold/Pending In Last 6 months	280	430
Absorption Rate (Solds)	199 days	189 days
Absorption Rate (Solds Plus Pendings)	142days	173 days
Average Days on Market	77	78
Median Price Change From 1 Year Ago	-3%	-4%
Median Price	$441,000	$728,750
Average Price	$455,062	$774,576
% Chng in MDN from prior month	3%	0%
New on Market in February	79	120

The statistics do NOT have to be elaborate, but you should have the information that wll allow you to answer the questions that you have, and to make an informed decision. Here are some other things to know about:

• # of homes active on the market (in your price range)
• # of homes sold in last 6 months
• Sale price/List price ratios of homes that are active and that have sold
• Days on market (DOM)
• Price per SF of living space of sold comparable homes
• Price range of sold homes that are comparable

You get the idea. You agent will know what kind of information may be helpful, and you will possibly have some other ideas as well.

DON'T make the decision to buy or sell solely on statistics, but they are an important part of becoming an educated consumer.