The Saratoga Real Estate Report

The Week in Review

As of this morning, the MLS shows that 28 homes sold in Saratoga County for the week ending July 25, 2008. The mean and median prices were $289,131 and $263,500 respectively. The mean and median number of days it took home to sell was 79 and 26 days respectively. Both the mean and median home sold for 97% of list price.

On the high end of the spectrum, a 4000 square foot custom home sold in Saratoga Springs for $925,000. It has four bedrooms and is located on just under 2.5 acres of land and is pictured below.

Thirty-seven homes went under contract and 76 new homes, not including new construction, came on the market.

In Saratoga Springs, eight homes sold. The average and median prices were $388,800 and $267,000 respectively.

Beat the Bad News Blues

It seems like the national headlines this week have had nothing but bad news when it comes to the real estate market. Homes prices are down, foreclosures are up. What does this mean for us? Not much. While the National Association of Realtors reports a 6.7% drop in median home values in June, compared to June of 2007, we saw last week in the Second Quarter Report that median home prices in Saratoga County fell less than 1%, which is a statistically insignificant amount.

We are lucky to be living in a market which continues to remain largely immune to the problems faced elsewhere throughout the nation.

Now does that look like a housing slump to you? My hope is that this chart will dispel any anxiety that Capital Region readers may be feeling about their housing situation.

The careful reader may have noticed that this graph displays mean prices, whereas median is usually the preferred metric. This is because the mean data was readily available and the median data was not. For purposes of showing the direction of the market, the difference is negligible.

The Week In Review

As of this morning, the MLS shows that 39 homes have sold in Saratoga County for the week ending July 18th, including new construction.  The mean price was $315,483, spending an average of 85 days on the market.  The median price for the week was $284,300.  The median days on market was 50 days.  The mean and median home sold for 97% and 95% of list price, respectively.

On the high end was a 3700 square foot four bedroom home in Saratoga Springs, selling for $760,000.

Thirty-eight homes went under contract and, not including new construction, seventy homes came on the market.

In Saratoga Springs, eight homes sold.  The average and mean prices were $392,871 and $307,987 respectively.

The Second Quarter Report

The Second Quarter has come and gone and statistics are now available.  With the constant barrage of negative real estate news from the national media, many of you will be surprised to learn, and everyone will be happy to see, that Saratoga County has made it through another quarter unscathed. Incidentally, the Capital Region as a whole posted similar results. Home values in our area have held firm and continued to post modest gains without suffering the steep declines many other areas have suffered.

We'll start with everyone's favorite stat: Price.

Relative to the First Quarter, prices were up for active listings and homes under contract.  However, prices fell slightly for homes which closed in the Second Quarter. 

 

Year on year prices were up modestly for active listings and pending sales, rising 1.85% in both categories. The average sales price remained flat at $250,000. Given the negative reports we here from other parts of the country, this is encouraging news.

 

 

Homes sold for an average of 97.4% of their list price in the Second Quarter, down 0.7% from 98.1% in the Second Quarter of 2007.

On average, homes which closed in the Second Quarter were on the market for 88 days before receiving an accepted offer, up 17.33% from 75 days a year earlier. The average days on market for homes which went under contract during the Second Quarter was 74 days, a relatively flat change from 73 days a year early.

Shifting our attention now toward market activity, we find that new listings, sales, and units under contract all increased from Q1 08 to Q2 08. Much of this increase is due to the cyclical nature of the housing market, with more people looking to buy and sell real estate in Spring rather than in Winter.

Year on year, decreases were seen across the board, with new listings decreasing by 11.31%, sales decreasing by 6.41% and homes going under contract decreasing by 14.85%.

While this means that fewer people are buying and selling real estate in Saratoga County, it doesn't mean much else from the point of view of a homeowner or buyer. Looking at new listings as a percentage of homes which went under contract, the number fell slightly from 63% in Q2 07 to 60% Q2 08, an change of little significance.

The bottom line is that is that the Saratoga County market, as well as the surrounding area, remains healthy. We are no longer experiencing the high level of appreciation that characterized the first half of the decade, but, on the other hand, our real estate market continues to remain largely immune to the severe problems faced by many other markets in the country. For buyers, relatively low interest rates and flat to modest price increases over the past year or two makes this a great time to buy. For homeowners looking to sell, keep in mind that even if you end up selling for a few percent below what your home was worth two or three years ago, you will be able to buy your next home at a similar discount. And if you're moving out of the area, you'll make out even better, as many markets have seen large declines in property values.

Lastly, with all these numbers, please do not lose sight of the forest for the trees. Next week I will post a simple chart showing prices changes over the past few years.

The Week In Review

Last week, twenty-two homes were sold in Saratoga County.  The average home sold for $369,729 and was on the market for 94 days.  The median home sold for $257,000 and was on the market for 39 days.  On average, homes sold for 98% of list price. 

At the high-end for the week, and pictured here, is a beautiful 7000+ square foot custom home in Greenfield Center on over 20 acres, which sold for $2,200,000.

In Saratoga Springs, two homes sold for an average price of $329,500.

All stats are for from the Capital Region Multiple Listing Service and are current as of 7/14/2008.  They are for the seven day period ending 7/11/2008.