With the New Year upon us, it is now time to start to evaluate what we can expect out of the economy in 2012. Nationwide unemployment has slimmed down to 8.5%, and housing has started to show signs of life. Although the banks are expected to release a large number of foreclosed properties to the market, interest rates are still quite low, and because home prices have been so reasonable, affordability is at an all-time high. Home sellers can also expect to take advantage of this market, since they will make out better when they purchase a new property, in spite of the fact that they may not get as much as they’d like from the sale of their existing home. It’s a balancing act.
Speaking of balance, it is almost as if the real estate market has reached- and is passing- the bottom of the trough that we’ve been dealing with for the past four to five years. In Aberdeen, MD, sales actually improved in December over the same month a year ago. This increase- albeit modest- has occurred for two consecutive months, and there are no indications that the trend will not continue.
19 homes got new owners during the month in Aberdeen, transferring at a median sale price of $195,000, which is up over 13% from the same month in 2010. It took 24% less time to obtain a buyer, with the average time on market being reduced to 146 days. The total number of properties currently listed is lower as well, with 129 properties available for sale. Of the 19 homes that sold, nine were either short sales or foreclosures, which is one more than the eight that changed hands last year.
The fact that the economy has started to climb out of the slump is only evident in the way that the market finished out the 2011 year, since the overall total sales for the Aberdeen, MD real estate market were almost identical to what they were in 2010. At year-end, there were 196 homes that sold, up ever-so-slightly from the 195 that sold in Aberdeen, MD in 2010. The leveling of sales may indicate that we are poised for a surge that might be beginning in the Spring of 2012. Feel free to contact me at scott.miller@century21.com or by visiting www.scottmillerrealestate.com.
