Mother Lode Market Facts for Buyers and Sellers

One of the goals of Sugar Pine Realty is to provide consumers timely statistics on the real estate market in the Mother Lode. Sellers, are you looking for solid information to base your decision on when to list your home? Buyers, are you curious about what the numbers say on whether it’s the right time to buy? Well, I've got an answer for each of you. Here are the facts of the market in the Mother Lode for the 1st Quarter 2008 (January through March) compared to the 1st Quarters of the previous two years (2007 and 2006 , respectively):









Now, what you’ll notice are the following things. First of all, Average List Price of Homes Sold has dropped from $392,248 in the 1st Qtr 2006 to $346,546 in the 1st Qtr 2008. That’s a $45,702 drop or 11.66% decrease over the past two years in Average List Price of Homes Sold. The second thing you’ll notice is Average Sale Price of Homes Sold has dipped to $322,343 in the 1st Qtr 2008 versus $349,928 in the 1st Qtr 2007 (last year). That’s a $27,585 drop or 7.88% decrease. (To put it in more understandable terms, Average Sale Price of Homes Sold has dropped close to $8000 for every $100k of Home Price, 1st Qtr 2007 to 1st Qtr 2008. The final thing you’ll notice (which is probably the most important statistic for both sellers and buyers) is the Sale Price/List Price Ratio. And let’s just cut to the chase as regards the 1st Qtr 2008 without comparing to the previous years. The numbers indicate that, on average, homes in the Mother Lode are selling at approximately 93% of the Original List Price which can be interpreted a number of different ways. At the very least, it indicates that sellers in the Mother Lode are willing to negotiate when it comes to their asking price. And so what does it all mean to Buyers and Sellers? Well, here you go in a nutshell…

SELLERS: Prices are down, yes, but if you list your home and price it right (taking into consideration the present Sale Price/List Price Ratio), your home will sell.

BUYERS: There’s no doubt about it. It’s a buyer’s market. Prices are down and that favors you.

Don’t forget to choose a Sugar Pine Realty/GMAC Real Estate professional when you’re ready to buy or sell. Visit http://www.sugarpinerealty.com/ for more information.