You've heard me going on about how prices are up and how I told you they were going up two years ago. Okay. Enough of that crowing, Clark.
Let's talk about what this means.
See the 3-month moving average, above, for per square foot home prices in the downtown and CenPho neighborhoods.
If you are a buyer, expect this to continue. In a presentation I did with The Cromford Report's Tina Tamboer last week, I predicted that homes in the CenPho areas will probably go up another 15-20% this year. Tina was a little more conservative, pointing to a typical summer price plateau.
If you are a seller, think about selling before that plateau hits in June, or hold off until the autumn.
Two reasons why you may not want to hold off until next year if you are a seller:
1) If everybody does the same thing (and they often do in markets), then we are looking at a tight and possibly unstable market. You don't want to sell during that because it could shift rapidly.
2) The Cromford Index (see this link) shows that this is a very strong seller's market. Historically seller's markets don't last forever. A seller's market happens any time the index is over 100. This seller's market may be waning, especially if interest rates go up --as they have been doing.
So, you might be thinking, "Clark, how can you tell both buyers and sellers to act at the same time?"
Well, I'm not, really. What I'm saying is keep an eye on these indicators as you think about what is best for you, regardless of the market. This is not a stock market where you can trade back and forth easily. But you need to think ahead of the trends.
Call me at 602-456-9388 if you want help doing that.
Here's another great listing at Villa del Coronado, a beautiful mid-century modern property in CenPho. Don't miss the details on this one.
This blog is a quick read about the Index. If there is only one things you follow in the real estate world, this should be it.
Sounds very academic and official, huh? But this is an informative way to think about how trends in CenPho houses are informed by historic neighborhoods --even if you are not in a historic neighborhood.