Real Estate info- buying, selling and everything in between

Greetings!

Halloween is rapidly approaching so once again it is time for the  OFallonRealEstate.com Jack-O-Lantern photo contest.  Rules are pretty easy.

Email us a photo(s) of your Jack-O-Lantern and you will be entered into a drawing for an IPOD Shuffle! 

The photo must be one that you have taken and own...simple right?

Photos must be received by 5:00pm November 2nd and winners will announced  November 3rd.    Good luck!

A few entries from years past:

 

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

 

The good(sort of), the bad and the ugly.

The drop from the 3^rd quarter 2007-2008 was at -9%.  From 2008-2009 it is - 10%.  So consistency seems to be the key here (good...sort of).  What this also shows is that the continued slow down. in the O'Fallon Real Estate market is not quite over(bad).  In the last quarter of 2008, 76 homes closed. If one were to use the data above we could expect somewhere in the range of 62 homes closing in the 4^th quarter of 2009(ugly).  Right now in O'Fallon there are 60 homes under contract.  If this number is expanded to include those with a contingency contract the number climbs to 68. Currenlty there are 246 homes for sale.

 

 

 

 

 

The wild card is how many folks will purchase and close before the tax credit runs out at the end of November.  The National Association of Realtors projects that between 1.8-2 million first time home buyers will take advantage of the credit.  That comes out to about 350,000 home sales nationwide as a result. 

We are currently in the window where a buyer could still go under contract and get a home closed in time but that window will be closing shortly for most buyers.  For more info on the tax credit click here.  Short sales continue to rise, these are very attractive to home buyers however the time needed to get many of these to closing may be prohibitive to take advantage of the credit in time. 

 

 

 

 

Things seem to have held steady over the last 30 days or so.  In August, 39 homes closed in O'Fallon and September saw a very slight drop down to 37.  All things considered this is a positive.  The first time home buyer tax credit has helped to keep things rolling.  Currently it is set to expire on December 1^st 2009 but there is much talk about extending it into next year.

 

Of the 37 homes that closed:

34 were re-sale or pre-owned.  They had an average sales price of $172,388 and averaged 117 days on the market.

3 were new construction.  They had an average sales price of $272,383 and ran about 208 days on market.

 

Once again the bulk of the activity occurred under $300,000, with 33 out of 37 homes closing below that mark.

 

 

Historically speaking things may have leveled off a bit as we are only down 3 homes from September of 2008.

 

 

Year to date O'Fallon IL is down 51 homes from this time last year.

As I mentioned earlier monthly totals have started to decline slightly, however the fourth quarter is historically a slower period so expect this to drop over the coming months.  The GOOD news is that currently there are 55 homes under contract.

 

Foreclosures, pre-foreclosures and short sales  continue to rise however the long term impact they may have on market value remains to be seen.  Appraisers are taking distressed properties into consideration when handling appraisals so that is helping to keep things stable from that end of things.

 Stay tuned for a more in depth of the 3^rd quarter!

 

 

 

August 2009 Real Estate Market Update for O'Fallon IL.

 

In August 39 homes closed in O'Fallon IL.  This is down from June (48) and July with 45. Of those 39:

4 were new construction and had an average sales price of $239,769 and 92 days on the market.

35 were re-sale homes with an average sales price of $179,956 and 134 days on the market.

Monthly totals for 2009

 

 

August Totals 2005-2009

 

 

Year to date totals 2005-2009

 

The magic number still seems to be below the $300,000 mark.  Of the 38 homes that closed in August 37 of them closed BELOW $300,000.

 

 

 

Currently there are 253 homes for sale in a wide variety of price ranges.  With the tax credit potentially coming to a close this is an opportune time to purchase.  For more info on the credit see below!

 

 

 

It's running out! Do you know how the first time home buyer tax credit works?

 

 

So what what would you do with/for $8,000???

 

Most of you are familiar with this program by now but if you need more information please visit us at

OFallonRealEstate.com

Have a great weekend!

 

 

 

Don't let the water run while brushing your teeth!

 

July Market Update for O'Fallon IL

Things are down slightly(10%) from last month, but there are still many under contract so no cause for alarm just yet.

$300,000 still seems to be a ceiling for home sales.  Of the 43 homes that closed in July, 91% of them were below $300K.  The bulk of the closed homes (34) fell between $100,000-$299,999.

 

Your re-cap of the last 30 days for O'Fallon IL Real Estate

July 2009

Closed 43 Homes

                                          

New Construction:    1 @ $268,348 with a market time of 91 days.

 

Re-sale: 42 with an average sales price of $209,354 and an average market time of 133 days.

Currently there are 251 homes for sale in O'Fallon IL.

 

Your long awaited statistical graphs!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On a non-real estate related issue, yours truly took part in the All-Star charity5k last month and ran into(not literally as I would have knocked her over) Shawn Johnson.  She was kind enough to pose for a photo...never know who you will run into.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stay cool folks as we are now going to pay for the fantastic weather of the last few weeks!

And more importantly...where should I price my home to SELL?

For those sitting on the fence about market value and what homes are actually selling for... read on!

O'Fallon IL so far in 2009:

90% of the homes closed for less than $300,000.  These homes averaged about 141 days on the market or about 4.5 months. 

The days on market for those homes over $300,000 soars to 208 days or about 7 months.

 

The Real Estate Market for June 2009 showed much the same as above.

85% of homes closed in O'Fallon IL in June 2009 closed under $300,000 with a market time of just under 4 months.  Jump over $300,000 and market time increases to over 6 months.

So... pricing as always is very critical.  In some cases a homeowner may be better off pricing more competitively for a faster sale (fewer house payments, taxes and insurance) than going a bit higher to "see" what may or may not happen.  Price = Time.  This will become even more important as summer draws to a close.  Fall and winter historically bring fewer home sales and elevated market times.

 

Hope everyone had a safe (dry) and enjoyable 4th of July weekend!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                 

 

Well...the first half of 2009 has been interesting to say the least for Real Estate in O'Fallon IL.  The silver lining here is that closed homes are right where they were at this time last year.  No better, but it appears the trend downwards may have slowed down for now. In June, 44 homes closed with an average sales price of $221,298 and an average market time of 129 days. 

Of the 44 closings:

40 were Re-Sale homes with an average sales price of $206,794 and 127 days on market.

4 were New Construction with an average sales price of $366,342 and 142 days on market.

 

More good news: There are currently 58 homes under contract!

 

Now for the historical data:

 

 

 

 

 

New Construction in the O'Fallon IL Real Estate Market:

New Construction seems to be holding steady in O'Fallon IL.  While sales are down new homes still seem to hold about the same percentage of the market. In 2006 new construction accounted for 28% of home sales.

2007: 25%

2008: 26%

and so far in 2009 we are at 13% so it looks to be on track to maintain.  While there may be fewer new homes available there are still many excellent choices. Click here to search now!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Much has been said and changed as of late regarding the $8,000 tax credit and the ability to use it for down payment purposes.  For some clarification and insight, Ryan Luechtefeld has written a very informative article outlining some options.  To read click here Enjoy!

And in other news, if you have noticed an absence of wood sculpture in downtown O'Fallon it is due to the fact the local artist Dave Perez has departed.  I hope you had the opportunity to stop by and visit or pick up a piece of truly unique art.