Archive for the 'VT Housing Market Updates' Category

Taking a look back at the residential real estate market in the Burlington VT Area (including Burlington, South Burlington, Williston, Essex, Essex Jct., Hinesburg, St. George, Underhill, Jericho, Westford, Milton, Colchester, Winooski, Charlotte, Shelburne, Richmond, Bolton, and Huntington) for 2009 a total of 872 single family homes, 513 condos and 63 multi-families sold in Chittenden County according to the North Western Vermont Board of Realtor’s MLS Statistics.  According to the same statistics the average sale price of a single family home in Chittenden County, Vermont was $302,446, for a condo the average price was $212,653, and for multi-families the average price was $277,666, for 2009.  When we compare these 2009 Burlington VT Area numbers and statistics to those in 2008 the number of single family home sales is actually up by a hundred and three homes from 769 in 2008 or 11.8%, however, the average price per unit sold is down $17,103 or 5.3% from the $319,549 average in 2008.  And as for the Burlington area condo market the number of sales is only down by 5 units when compared to 2008 statistics and the average price per unit sold is down $9,054 or 4.5% from the $221,707 average in 2008.  As for multi-families, the number of sales were down by 15 units and the average price per multi-family unit was down $24,541 or 8.1% from 2008.

Looking at these numbers, Chittenden County residential real estate as a whole has really stayed pretty steady. The correction was minor when comparing percentages in price per units sold with 2008 stats. The Burlington area market has seen a drop in prices per unit but total number of single family homes, condos, and multi-family sales in 2009, when viewed from a combined perspective, is actually above the number of units sold in 2008 by 83 units!  Any thoughts?

Are you familiar with the Real Estate adage that goes; ‘the true value of a property is what a ready, willing and able buyer is willing to pay’? Well, the following rambling discourse has something to do with that subject.

On 2/18/2010, I went to an education update on the appraisal process for existing single family homes in Vermont, and here’s what I found.

Appraiser’s are having a difficult time with their valuations of Vermont real estate these days due to the lower than normal volume of sales to use as comparables (land is even more difficult). Lower sales volume means fewer recently sold properties that are going to be available as good comps. All of the different features in a home comparison aren’t going to match up as closely, so you’re going to end up with a wider range of value due to approximate (rather subjective) adjustments that must be made to get homes equalized for a fair comparison. It’s one of those things that is part art and part science. Nowadays the art part is more dominant vs. the science, meaning one is less likely to get a precise value based on a really good comparable. As a Buyer’s agent, what this means for me is that I can be an even greater value  to my clients.  For sure, I need to be using correct assumptions about the value of different adjustments for each feature, but a buyer needs to have help in obtaining information about what price range makes sense for a particular property. Getting help in determining a realistic price range helps everyone reach common ground faster in regards to an offer that a seller will accept (assuming it’s not a short sale or foreclosure, or a fixer upper).

Even though I’m not an appraiser, I can at least do the math in a simple comparable market analysis to give my buyer a general idea about value in any given Chittenden County, Vermont  property.

So, it all comes down to the supposed valuation of a property vs. what a ready, willing and able buyer offers to pay. Let the games begin!