As a Realtor I’m often asked, “Shanon, how’s the market?” In grad school, I learned the fundamentals that in business one must have an understanding of the theory of a topic, as well as its application. The theory/data of the housing market is clearly stated in the latest Jackson County Residential Statistics. What we’re seeing in our county is a 6% price increase over last year, a whopping 52.8% price increase over the last 5 years with the median price at $221,500, up from $209,000 last year. That means that just five years ago back in 2011 the average-priced home was $145,000!
Here’s some more food for thought. When looking at March 2015 vs March 2016, we saw the average days a home was for sale on the market was 71 days last year vs 48 days this year. That means for a residential home that closes in the typical 30-45 day time period (depending on means used to finance the home) they are getting snatched up within days of being on the market.
The impact of the upcoming summer will depend if you are a Seller, Buyer, or Investor. If you’re a Buyer: Better make sure you are pre-qualified with a Mortgage Lender for a home loan so you are ready to make strong offers in the upcoming competitive environment. Also keep in mind that Buyers are paying about 95% of the asking price, and there are about 4 homes available to today’s buyers versus 5 last year with a 2.3 months supply of inventory (down -36.9% from last year).
If you’re an Investor: According to Forbes, “If you’re looking into real estate investments, you likely want to earn wealth on real estate based on the risk you are taking, while minimizing the amount of time you need to spend attending to the property. Your goal should be to strive to get as close as possible on as many of these optimal scenarios as possible: Pays a Fair Cash-on-Cash Return, Isn’t Too Risky an Investment, Doesn’t Require a Lot of Time or Managing.”
Be sure to stay connected with your Property Management Company for more information on going market rates, availability, and also new laws that will be addressed and clarified in the next legislative session. So, how are you going to apply that theory/data of new knowledge? The market is certainly talking Medford, hope you’re listening!
Shanon Pewtress
Real Estate Broker, Licensed in the state of Oregon
Published May 16, 2016
Shanon holds an MBA in International Business, loves writing in her “At Home with Shanon” column that has been delivered to 47,000+ homes in Medford since 2014, has appeared on the Real Estate Radio Show, and was also featured on A&E TV network’s Real Estate Reality TV show.