Lake Gaston Real Estate Market Update End of Oct 2016
I was thinking about how we “Fall Back” this time of the
year when we adjust our clocks for Daylight Savings Time and what difference
does an hour make in the real estate market? The answer is that every hour in
the United States 633 homes sell, 253 homes regain positive equity and Median
Home Values Go Up $1.43? An hour makes a huge difference in the real estate
market.
From hours to months for the local real estate market:
Let’s look at the first ten months of 2016 for the Lake Gaston real estate
market. Busy and productive describe it best. We have completed the sales of 187
waterfront homes, 97 offshore homes, 36 waterfront lots and 29 offshore lots
totaling $92,694,385. In the same ten
months of 2015 our total sales were $86,323,213. Our overall dollar sales increase
for the year is a modest 7.38% over last year and our unit increase for land and
homes is 10.22%.
Waterfront homes, the largest part of the increase in 2016,
is up 6.06% over 2015. Waterfront homes represent 81% of our total sales in 2016.
Our average days on market in 2016 for waterfront homes is up slightly to 219. Days on market are the days between when the
property first goes onto the market until closing, which includes about 45 to
60 days after the property goes under contract.
All sales statistics are from
the Roanoke Valley Lake Gaston Board of REALTORS® Multiple Listing Service
(MLS).
The National Association of
REALTORS (NAR) reported Existing Home Sales and Pending Home Sales increased
slightly in September. NAR predicts an
increase of 2% in both Existing and Pending Homes Sales for 2017. They site inventory shortage in some markets
will hold back sales. We are also short
quality inventory here at the lake in some price ranges.
The Conference
Board Consumer Confidence Index, which had increased in September,
declined in October. The Index now stands at 98.6, down from 103.5 in September. “Consumer confidence retreated in October,
after back-to-back monthly gains,” said Lynn Franco, Director of Economic
Indicators at The Conference Board. “Consumers’ assessment of current business
and employment conditions softened, while optimism regarding the short-term
outlook retreated somewhat. However, consumers’ expectations regarding their
income prospects in the coming months were relatively unchanged. Overall,
sentiment is that the economy will continue to expand in the near-term, but at a
moderate pace.”
Buyer
activity continues to be strong going into the fall season. We believe 2017
will be another strong year in the Lake Gaston real estate market.
Barney Watson is Managing
Partner with RE/MAX On The Lake and 2016 MLS President of the Roanoke Valley
Lake Gaston Board of REALTORS®. His cell: 252-532-3274 and web:www.barneywatson.com
