Sven Andersen Monthly Market Updates

Winchester, MA Real Estate Update February 2010

Thank You for Making Sven and His Team the Number 1 Agent in Winchester and One of the Top 100 RE/MAX Agents in the USA for 2009!

Winchester MA Active Listings: There are a total of 48 properties actively on the market with the average price of $1,279,144 in Winchester.

          

Winchester MA Sold/Sale Pending: There are currently 10 properties with sales pending and 98 properties that closed over the last 6 months.  The average sold price for Winchester was $740,881 and average time on market was 100 days.  The average current list price to sold price ratio was 96%, meaning these sellers received on average 96% of what they were asking for their property at the time it sold.

    

    

Data provided by the MLS Property Information Network.

Absorption Rate/Supply: The current month supply of homes on the market is defined as the ratio of the current inventory of active listings compared to sales.  In other words, given recent sales activity, one can estimate how long it would take for the entire inventory of active listings to sell, assuming no new listings were to appear on the market.  At the present time it will take almost three months to sell all of the current active listings, without adding any new homes for sale.  The charts are based on trends from the last 6 months.

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National Market Trends

As expected, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) reported a decline in existing home sales at the end of 2009, as first time buyers rushed to beat the tax credit deadline and close their transactions by November 30. Although Existing home sales fell by 16.7 percent in December, sales remained brisk enough to break the 5 million unit mark, bringing total the number of existing homes sales up to 5,156,000 for all of 2009. The 2009 sales figures were almost 5 percent higher than the year before, creating first year-over-year sales gain since 2005.

Chief NAR economist Lawrence Yun remains cautiously optimistic about the national housing market. "It’s significant that home sales remain above year-ago levels, but the market is going through a period of swings driven by the tax credit," he said. 'We’ll likely have another surge in the spring as home buyers take advantage of the extended and expanded tax credit. By early summer the overall market should benefit from more balanced inventory, and sales are on track to rise again in 2010. However, the job market remains a concern and could dampen the housing recovery – job creation is key to a continued recovery in the second half of the year."

Five Winter Staging Tips

When selling your home in the winter, the art of staging the inside becomes more important.  Here are five simple tips that can help you sell your home shine even when the outside landscaping has faded:

  • Keep your house warm.  In the winter people tend to turn the thermostat down to save money, however a warmer house is more welcoming to a potential buyer.
  • Clear your walkways and driveways of any snow or ice.  Make it easy for buyers to get to your home.
  • Clean the windows and blinds.  Letting in the natural light can brighten up a room and cheer up the home.  This also brings attention to the windows and blinds so make sure they are clean even during winter.  Dirty windows will make the home seem as those it's not well maintained.
  • Background music played softly can completely change the atmosphere making the home seem cozy and keep potential buyers around longer.  Stick with classical music which can appeal to anyone.
  • Leave the light on.  Before showing a home, make sure it's well lit.  A well lit home is more inviting.  If you're not home, consider setting up timers.
Following these simple tips can give your house that added boost in today's competitive market. For information on selling in our local market, please feel free to call and ask for a computer analysis of our recent market activity. We would be more than happy answer any questions you might have!