February 2008 Home Sales For West Chester & Liberty Township, Ohio

	February 2007	February 2008	+ / –
Closed Units	82	79	-3.66%
Average Sale Price	$235,031	$228,849	-2.63%
Average Days On Market	82	84	+2.44%
Average List to Sale Price %	96.88%	95.19%	-1.69%

When is a decrease in home sales good news??

When the decrease in the number of closed units is the lowest percentage decrease in quite some time.

Home sales in West Chester and Liberty Township fell by 3.66% in February 2008 when compared to February 2007.  This is remarkable when you consider that the last couple of months decreases were 29.27% In January and 21.00% in December.  We are seeing sporadic increases of showing activity by buyers, however these showings are not resulting in an increase in sales as of yet, however this is clearly an improvement over the steep declines that we were seeing.

The average sale price in West Chester and Liberty Township was $228,849 in February.   This is a lower average sale price than what was seen in February of 2007.  It is 2.63% lower than 2007.  This is certainly not surprising and continues to re-inforce the need to price your home aggressively to get it sold.

Wondering what your home is worth??

Click here to find the current market value of your home

The average days on market rose to an average of 84 days on the market,  which is a 14 day increase over homes that closed in January and it is just a 2 day increase over February 2007.  Keep in mind, the “days on market” statistic is based on homes that have sold and closed, and is not impacted by homes that are still for sale.  So that home that you drive by everyday, that you know has been for sale for months and months, is not factored into this statistic.

The list price to sale price ratio was considerably lower again in February 2008 as compared to February 2007.  It fell 1.69 basis points from the prior year and was .09 basis points higher than January 2008.  This list to sale price ratio of 95.19% is one of the strongest indicators of jus how much of a buyer’s market this really is.

Mortgage rates have climbed considerably.   Mortgage rates which were hovering around 5.49% for a thirty year fixed rate mortgage just weeks ago, are now  at 6.05% for the same thirty year fixed rate mortgage.  I had many people tell me that they were waiting for rates to go even lower when they were at 5.49%.  These people waited to buy or refinance and missed out on a great rate.  Will the rates return to these lower levels??  Only time will tell.  My guess is they may not get below 5.50%  again for quite some time.  If they do, I sure wouldn’t wait again!

As always I will continue to monitor these real estate market numbers  for West Chester and Liberty Township Ohio and will share them as they become available.  Should you have particular questions about these numbers please let me know!

If you would like to learn the current market value of your home I would be happy to provide you with it.

I would love to hear your thoughts and comments!