The month of July is swiftly passing, and so has the second quarter of the year. To keep with tradition, this week we will focus on statistics of last month compared to June of 2018, and we’ll also take a look at the second quarter as a whole. Ready? Let’s go…
The market for detached homes was stronger in all categories for June 2019 compared to 2018. Unit sales were up by 11% to 111 units over 100 last year. They also sold faster and for a little more money, with an average of 55 days on market as opposed to 70 last year which is a 27.3% change and an average sales price of $312,748 which is 2% higher than $306,637 last year. Attached homes were a little softer dropping 31% in number of units to 29 from 38. They sold 27.3% more quickly, though, with the days on market dropping to 91 from 106. The sales price dipped to $182,228 from $211,726 last year which is a 16.2% change.
Moving on to numbers for the second quarter of 2019 vs 2018. I like quarterly comparisons because it gives a broader picture of the market compared to last year and therefore a better indication of our current market as a whole. As per usual, we’ll start with single family detached. This year between April 1 and June 30 there were 270 units sold which is an increase of 14.9% from last year that closed 235 units. They also sold faster at 69 days on market as opposed to 81 reflecting a 17.4% decrease. Average sales price? Up 6% from $287,438 to $304,613. Not too shabby. Now how about those attached homes? Units had a modest 2% increase from 98 to 100 and they also sold faster with 85 days on market which is a 10.6% decrease from 94 days in 2018. The price had a very small dip, 1.3% to be precise, from $197,354 in 2018 to $194,809 this year.
Let me take this one step further and combine both property types. This will show us an overall picture of our residential housing market compared to last year. Second quarter this year showed an 11.1% increase of total units sold, with 370 this year and 333 last. The number of days on market decreased 16.4% from 85 to 73 and the sales prices increased from $260,927 to 274,936 reflecting a 5.4% change in market value.
Looking at these numbers is encouraging that we will have another healthy year here in Monongalia county. It’s good to see modest and steady growth in both price and units and that’s what’s reflected here. The positive changes are noticeable but not alarming and the negatives are fairly insignificant in the big scheme of things. This is what we want as homeowners and property investors – a steady and consistent return on our investment.
Enjoy these last few days of July! Before you know it you’ll be seeing the kids off at the bus stop and complaining about students walking right out in front of you on High St. Life is good…
Melissa Berube, 2019 MBOR President
