February home sales in Georgetown, TX

March 23, 2009 at 7:56 am , by Jenel Looney

Forty-four homes sold in MLS areas GTE and GTW in the month of February. That’s down ever-so-slightly from January (see my January home sales report). I’d say it’s really pretty flat, especially when you consider that January had three more days than February. But it’s a bad flat, a lowest-of-the-decade flat.

Historically speaking, homes in this area sell for approximately 97% of the list price at the time of sale (not necessarily the original list price). In February, homes sold for an average of 94% of the list price at the time of sale. Sellers are being forced to realize that if they truly want or need to sell their home, they’re going to have to give buyers a deal. At some point, it becomes financially unfeasible for sellers to cut their prices anymore. I’ll argue that this is the time for sellers to remove their home from the market, rather than simply letting it languish and add to the inventory. If your house isn’t selling for the price you need now, try again in a year or two. That sounds like I’m oversimplifying, but honestly, it doesn’t matter how much you need to make if buyers simply aren’t willing to pay that amount. We need to lower the number of homes on the market to jump-start our recovery. The best way to do this is for the homes to sell, but if sellers can’t lower their prices to the point where their homes will sell, they need to admit defeat for now and try again another day. (This is all just my general market opinion, not specific advice for any individual.)

There are currently 648 homes active on the market, up from the 617 I reported in January. The homes that sold in February sold after an average of 104 days. The 648 homes that are active right now have spent an average of 121 days on the market. 29 of these homes have been active on the market for more than a year. (One surprised me at first. 1800 square feet on more than 9 acres with an ag exemption, priced at $285,000. It’s been on the market 600+ days. The listing has no pictures of the inside of the house. Surely after 600 days, the owners could’ve found time to clean the house and make it presentable enough for pictures! The vast majority of buyers start their search online. They’re not even going to want to look at a house in person if they don’t like what they see on the internet.)

I met a lady Saturday at the Bark Park in Georgetown who is trying to sell her home in Sun City Texas. I sympathized with her because she’s competing with new construction out there, homes that are essentially identical to hers, but with some fantastic buyer incentives that most individual homeowners simply can’t match. There are 174 Sun City homes active in the MLS right now, which have been on the market an average of 129 days. 19 of February’s sales were in Sun City, and they sold for an average of just under $108 per square foot. The homes that are active are listed at an average of $120 per square foot.

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