Welcome to the end of November. Better late than never, but here’s the Chester County real estate statistics for October, 2009. As always, here’s the chart first:

As you can see, under contract listings vs new listings rose again in October. The median and average price did take a bit of a dip again. I think most of that is the first time buyer credit. Buyers were anxious to take advantage of the prior deadline (11/30/2009) which meant lower priced homes targeted. Now that the extension was passed (more on that in another post), we’ll need to see how that affects sales. Days on market and residual inventory (as well as new listings) continued down. So what did this do to the county’s absorption rate? It went down to from 8 to 7.7 months of inventory. That makes the average since January around 9.25 vs all of last year at almost 11. Of course, if you look at some of the higher price ranges these numbers increase more dramatically. They are selling, but it’s going to take some time and, hopefully, as the lower price ranges pick up, the domino effect will help the upper ranges.

If you want information on your area, just contact me and I’ll be happy to pass along the information.

See the charts below:

Related posts:

1. Chester County Statistics for October, 2008
2. West Chester Statistics for October, 2008
3. Chester County Statistics for August 2009

Sorry, for the delay, but finally had a chance to sit down and run the numbers for September. Here’s the latest statistics for September, 2009 in Chester County. First the graph:

Looking at the numbers and the slides located below, both median and average prices in September dropped 17% versus the same time in September, 2007. I added trend lines to help illustrate what prices have been doing. As you can see we had gradual rise and then drop through 2008. Over the last few months it appears to be trending upwards, or at the very least somewhat level.

Price, however isn’t the whole picture and as you can see, in the other two slides that inventory is has come gone up slightly along with a drop in new listings. Under contracts, compared to 2 years ago, has definitely risen, and this has been a general trend since the beginning of the year. Compared to August, they were up as well while new listings stayed the same. So what did this do to the absorption rate? Well, it went down a bit to 8 months of inventory. I’m sure the first time credit helped with the increase and helped some people who were waiting.

Speaking of the first time credit, there is a VERY small window (currently) to find, purchase and settle on a home by November 30. No one’s sure if and in what form the first time credit could or could not become. As I’ve stated before, if there’s an issue on November 30, you could lose out. So that means the number of days is even shorter. Especially, with Thanksgiving coming.

Back to the statistics though. If you would like these statistics for a township, zip code or in another form, just contact me. I’ll be happy to help.

Here is even more data along with the trend lines I discussed above.

Related posts:

1. Chester County Statistics for September, 2008
2. Chester County Statistics for August 2009
3. West Chester Statistics for September, 2008

School has started again (can I get a yeah from the parents) and it’s time for real estate statistics for August, 2009 in Chester County.

Here’s the latest chart:

As you can see, August was a little slower than July. August is generally slow, typically, due to everyone trying to get their vacations in before the school year started. Under contract listings (our future sold properties) went down as did the number of sold properties. Though looking at the last 3 months, we’ve stayed fairly consistent with sold numbers. Both sold and median prices have also remained steady. The average price for 2009 is around $340,000. See the charts below for more numbers.

The number new listings have also dropped and is down 14% over the last two years (ending August). Residual inventory did is up in the same time about 5%. So what has this done to the absorption rate? Well, it did go up to about 10 months of inventory from 8.5 months. It’s a typical trend for this time frame.

Feel free to contact me if you would like this information for your area. I’ll be happy to pass them along.

For more detailed information and to make your own conclusions see the charts:

Related posts:

1. Chester County Statistics for September 2009
2. Chester County Statistics for August 2008
3. Chester County Statistics for July 2009

Here’s the real estate market statistics for the Malvern and Paoli zip codes ending July, 2009.

As you can see, the median and average price both went up from June and even compared to July 2008. The number of properties sold and the under contract has steadily risen since January, as well. The number of for sale properties has increased though that number has remained fairly steady and compared to the same time last year, has dropped. Days on market has been up and down with no consistent trend one up or down. I’m not really sure what to make of that, if anything. See the charts below for more numbers.

What does this mean for the absorption rate in Malvern/Paoli? Well, it’s in the single digit range of 7.9 months of inventory. That number has been up and down as well, though for 2009 it’s mostly been lower than 10 months. The cycle of winter tends higher, though 2008 was better than 2007. We’ll see this winter what happens here as we have seen increases in sales for the year.

More detail and charts can be found below so you can draw your own conclusions. If you want this for your area, or if you have questions regarding this information feel free to comment or contact me and I’ll answer you as quickly as possible.

Related posts:

1. Malvern/Paoli Statistics for April 2009
2. Malvern and Paoli Statistics – May, 2008
3. Malvern and Paoli statistics for June, 2008

After 6 months of upward movement, July 2009 was the first down month for Chester County since December. Here’s the chart:

To be fair, July tends to slow (along with August) as people take vacations. As you can see from the charts below prices for July are down about 3-4% over the past 2 years. So I would call this the cyclical summer slow down. Homes are selling though, in my experience. There have been multiple offer situations on homes priced properly. Days on market remains steady at around 80 days.

So what do these numbers mean for the absorption rate? Well it did go up to around 10 months of inventory from 8 months.

Want to make your own conclusions? Then, see the charts below. And as always, feel free to contact me to get charts like these for your area.

Related posts:

1. Chester County Statistics for August 2009
2. Chester County Statistics for September 2009
3. Market Statistics for Malvern/Paoli in July 2009

The next level in our series by price gets a little wider. As we up in the price ranges we start to see larger swings. So the next range for Chester County is the $1M to $1.5M price range.

Here’s the chart:

The numbers here tend to stay in the lower end of the range, i.e. less than $1.3M. The number of homes for sale tend to stay around the same, as well. The number of under contract listings went up the last 2 months and days on market lowered significantly.

So what has this done to absorption rates in this price range? It’s lowered to 19.1 months of inventory. That’s the lowest it’s been in a year and much less than the average for the year at 45 months of inventory.

See the charts below for more detailed information and to make your own conclusions about this market range:

Related posts:

1. Chester County Statistics (a break down) – $200 to $400K
2. Chester County Statistics (a break down) – $400K to $600K
3. Chester County Statistics (a break down) – Less than $200K

Number 5 in this series is about homes sales in Chester County, PA between $800K to $1M. First the summary of where we’ve been.

As can be seen, the numbers from a price standpoint are not down, compared to last year. As a matter of fact, they are up. But, looking at the month by month (below) you can see that the numbers have really stayed about the same. That’s about where the “positivity” ends. The number of under contract and sold listings are definitely down in this price range. The numbers have been all over the place really.

The absorption rate as of June, 2009 is 15.5 months of inventory. That’s one of the lowest months in the last year. The average for the year is around 26 months of inventory, so it is lower and after March, 2009 where that number rose to 89.5 months of inventory (2 under contract listings), things have been more positive over the past 3 months.

See the charts below for more information.

Related posts:

1. Chester County Statistics (a break down) – ($600 to $800K)
2. Chester County Statistics (a break down) – $400K to $600K
3. Chester County Statistics (a break down) – $200 to $400K

Here we are at Day 4 in my series on Chester County PA real estate statistics, with a break down, by price range. As the title says, today’s price range is from $600K to $800K.

Here’s the summary chart:

Well, what I can add that the numbers don’t already say? If yesterday’s numbers were the start of the home sale bottleneck, then this is the next rung on the ladder. Median and Average prices (as a percentage compared to last year) are only down 4% and 1%, respectively. However, the more significant drop is the homes sold (48% down compared to June 2008). Under contract listings have remained about the same (with the exception of July 2008 which spiked higher). For the most part, under contract listings vs residual listings as a percentage has averaged about 6.5%.

All this affects the absorption, and that number is at 15 months of inventory. The average for the year is around 21 months of inventory. That number has lowered, since January 2009, and let’s hope the trend continues here. It is, regardless, considered a buyer’s market and until people decide it’s time to move up there won’t be too much more action than what we’re seeing.

The full charts for the year are below. Here’s the links to the rest of the series: Day 3, Day 2, Day 1.

Related posts:

1. Chester County Statistics (a break down) – $800K to $1M
2. Chester County Statistics (a break down) – $400K to $600K
3. Chester County Statistics (a break down) – $200 to $400K

Day 3 of our series breaking down home sales among the various price ranges in Chester County, PA brings us to the $400K to $600K price range.

As always, first the chart:

This is really where we start to see the “move up buyer”, or those people looking to move to a larger home. This has been a “difficult” range (or one of them). Without sales below, which have been good, homes starting in this range take longer to sell. June, 2009 was an uptick, but compared to last year is down a bit. Median and Average prices have remained about the same but took a bit longer to sell. The other numbers have moved “normally”, if you will, through the yearly real estate cycle.

What does this mean for the absorption rate for this range? As of June, it’s 8.5 months of inventory. This number is a low, except for May, for the year (starting June 2008). Most months have been 10 months or more, with a high of 21.4 months back in November, 2008. It’s steadily dropped since then and I hope it continues. I would say probably still in the “buyer’s market” area for this price range.

Feel free to dive deeper into the numbers in the charts below. Of course, if you would like more specific information feel free to contact me.

Stay tuned for tomorrow, where we move to the $600K to $800K price range.

Related posts:

1. Chester County Statistics (a break down) – $200 to $400K
2. Chester County Statistics (a break down) – ($600 to $800K)
3. Chester County Statistics (a break down) – Less than $200K

Yesterday I posted about home sales in Chester County below $200K. Today we continue the series and, as the title says, we look at the $200K to $400K home price range.

First a summary of the action:

As you can see, this is another range where prices have not dropped significantly, if at all really. The residual inventory is lower and as a percentage to under contract listings has held for 2 months at 20%. That percentage has climbed during the year and after a year or two of averaging about 15% (under contract/residual listings) is at one of it’s highest points. What about the absorption rate for this price range? Well that’s holding around 6.2 months of inventory for this time of year. Also, 2 months of consistent “normal” market conditions in this range. The first time buyer credit is also involved in this price range as well, which is helping.

As always the full charts for this information is below. They are only different as they are for the past year and not the last two, but looking at the last two really doesn’t change the numbers on a month to month basis.

Related posts:

1. Chester County Statistics (a break down) – $400K to $600K
2. Chester County Statistics (a break down) – Less than $200K
3. Chester County Statistics (a break down) – ($600 to $800K)