And when they got there the cupboard was bare...

That line from an old nursery rhyme might well be used to describe the current real estate market in our area. For reasons that likely includes a good deal of disgust over what has happen to home values; the inventory of homes for sale in my little patch of the market is very low, maybe even historically low; especially in the "sweet spot" of this market - the $200-$300K range.

Traditionally that $200-300K sweet spot is the most active part of our market and represents those move-up buyers who are making their second home purchase - moving out of their first home, their starter home. That's just not happening right now due to concerns about employment. The average DOM (Days On Market) for that segment is now above a year in this area. Add to that the frustration of the loss of 30-40% of the home's value over the last 2-3 years and you have a formula for market stagnation. And, that's just what has happened.


The Village of Milford Market has only 9 homes that fit the sweet spot definition and is doing OK, since they only average 107 DOM. Out of the nine, eight are privately owned, so only one foreclosure in the group; however there is also one short-sale in the privately held group. So, 2 out of 9 homes that are for sale on the Village are "distressed sales", which may make them less attractive to many would-be buyers. That leaves only 7 homes in the sweet spot in our little Village market. a few years back we would likely have had between 15-25 for sale in that same range at any one time.

What this all means is that, even though the market is still described as a "buyers market", in news stories, it is really a good time to list your house, if you want to (or need to) sell it. There is little competition right now. Sure, there are fewer buyers out looking and they are expecting lower prices; but, they also have much less to choose from, so your home has a better chance of selling. This applies not just to the sweet spot that I've been discussing here but pretty much across the board in all price ranges.

So, if you've been holding off until the market bottomed out and started back, I'd tell you that now is a good time to jump in. Prices have stabilized and there is low inventory. No, I can't undo what the market has done to your home's value; and, if you intend to wait until it comes back, you're in for a long haul. If you just wanted to make sure that prices wouldn't keep dropping if you put it on the market, I think we've arrived at that point, so go for it. Give me a call and let's take advantage of the low inventory situation to sell your house.