Stats News

by Doug Love

Ms. Shy, the Stats Guru of the North Valley is the one to talk to if you want to get a reading on the local Real Estate Market. She has enough numbers to give you a good rendition of where we’ve been, where we are, and where we’re headed- statistically. Ms. Shy has so many Real Estate numbers she can make you cross-eyed. She’ll hit you with Median Sales Price; Average days on Market; Absorption Rate; Price Fluctuations; List Price to Sales Price Ratio; and many more.

She can give you those numbers based on Year-over-Year comparisons, or Month-to-Month, or Quarter by Quarter. She can probably give them to you hour-by-hour or minute-by-minute. Ms. Shy spoke to a group of us and recited those Real Estate numbers rapid-fire, like an auctioneer.

Here, I will attempt to translate those statistics into the English language:

  • Inventory is low. The number of houses available For Sale is down compared to last Quarter and last year. And that number was really low last Quarter and last year. Ms. Shy says, “This is a good time for sellers to list their properties for sale. They will sell!”
  • Demand is high. Buyers are in abundance in the marketplace and they frequently compete with each other. Multiple offers on just-listed properties are common-place. Ms. Shy says, “Buyers better know the market, so they can react quickly with the right offer.”
  • Buyers do know the market. Over-priced properties sit, because buyers are keeping tabs with Fair Market Value. Ms. Shy says, “The List Price to Sales Price Ratio is almost non-existent. In other words, if a property isn’t priced right, buyers wait.”
  • Interest rates are low. Horse and buggy drivers would have cracked the whip at the chance for mortgage interest rates as low as they are today. Buyers in the North Valley can buy a home with a minimum down payment and have a monthly mortgage payment not much higher than a rent payment. Ms. Shy says, “All the talk is about mortgage interest rates going up this year, so buyers better get on it.”
  • Prices are stable. Low inventory plus high demand is supposed to equal rising prices. But our prices are creeping, not leaping. Buyers might be hungry, but they are cautious. Ms. Shy says, “Sellers need to know the Real Estate market at least as well as buyers do. They must resist the temptation to over-price in order to succeed.”

There are lots of statistics and numbers to know and remember. But I only need to remember one number: Ms. Shy’s cell phone.