If you’re not a fan of statistics, you might want to stay away from the real estate marketplace, at least in the near future.  While they’re not always a realtor’s best friend, and the average Colorado Springs realtor may not like what they’re reading, it’s hard to understand the real estate listings without them.  In many ways, the numbers on the monthly activity report from the Pikes Peak Association of Realtors appear to paint a worsening picture for sellers; that is, unless you know how to see the silver lining.

In a recent article by Action Team Realty in Colorado Springs, entitled “Decoding the Real Estate Listings in Colorado Springs for Spring/Summer 2011”, an agent explains how different people read the real estate trends in different ways.  For example, if you’re a buyer, the real estate listings will show a reduction in the median home price from April to May of $1,000, and a drop in the average sale price of over $4,000. 

 

Sellers, on the other hand may not be thrilled with another reduction in home prices, but when one considers the seasonality of the real estate market, it is not such a disappointment.  For example, the number of active real estate listings went up from 3,793 in April to 3,870 by the end of May.  Whenever the supply of anything goes up, the price usually comes down, and this happens almost every summer in real estate.  However, when one considers that the sale to list price ratio was steady at 97.5 percent, and the number of homes sold rose from 665 to 707 in a single month, it seems like a recovery could be imminent.  Even the average listing price went up by almost $4,000 from April to May. 

If the real estate listings scare you, and you’re an eternal optimist, it may help to sit down with a realtor at Action Team Realty in Colorado Springs.  While they may not be able to control home prices or the level of activity in the market, an agent can help you control your reaction to it by making wise real estate decisions.  Keep in mind that certain patterns occur in the real estate listings every spring and summer, as evidenced by watching the trends from one year to the next. 

Buyers are more anxious to make an offer on a home they really love during the spring and summer months, because they know someone else could come along that day and snatch it up.  Knowing that the average buyer is looking for a faster turnaround in spring and summer, sellers often make their initial sale price higher and get better offers.  However, when the summer comes to a close, buyers and sellers get nervous.  Prices come down on homes that have been on the market for months, and newer listings generate offers that are closer to the listing price.

If the real estate listings scare you, and you’re an eternal optimist, it may help to sit down with a realtor at Action Team Realty in Colorado Springs. 

 

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