Douglas County 2024
Real Estate Market Update
https://youtu.be/uIHvC_DBgSc
If you’ve been thinking of buying or selling in lovely Douglas County, but aren’t quite sure if it’s a good time or what the market is doing, then keep reading! Today I’m going to review the market trends for March in Douglas County and specifically, what these trends mean for YOU if you’re thinking about buying or selling! And make sure you stay tuned until the end for my thoughts on where you might find some hidden opportunities in this market!
Market Overview
Alright let’s start with sort of the overview or high-level perspective of the market. One of the main things that drives pricing and certainly effects your buying/selling experience is inventory.
As a quick reminder, we typically say that 4-6 month’s inventory is a balanced market; less than 4 means that there’s not a lot of inventory and so that can drive the prices up, making it more of a sellers’ market. And more than 6 months means that there’s lots of inventory driving home prices down and making it a buyer’s market.
In Douglas County we currently, we have a 2.76 Months Supply of Inventory. This means that if no new homes were listed, it would take between 2 ½ and 3 months to sell all the homes on the market.
This represents an increase of around 40% over last month, indicating a slight shift towards a more balanced market. But we would still classify this as a seller’s market. I think this increase in inventory indicates good news for buyers as we are seeing more options. And if you are a seller, really think about the advantageous of listing before we start to see a greater increase in inventory.
Average Price
Next, everyone’s favorite, or least favorite topic I guess, depending on which side you’re on….Price…. Ultimately, everyone really just wants to know how much they are going to pay or how much money they are going to make on their home. First of all, keep in mind that these numbers reflect all types of residential properties meaning that this includes townhouses, condos, multi-family homes as well as the single-family residence.
In Douglas County, the median sold price was $697,000, which is up 2.2% month over month. We are definitely seeing a steady and slow increase in pricing, which when paired with the days on market info that I’ll be discussing shortly, gives us a picture of what I think will be a strong spring market.
List to Sale Price Ratio
The List to Sold Price percentage is another area of interest. In Douglas County it’s is an impressive 99.5%, which means that homes are selling very close to their asking price. This is great news for sellers, as it shows strong demand in the market. And it provides some information to buyers about offering strategy.
Interest Rates
Now on to interest rates……We are still seeing rates in the mid sixes and low sevens depending on the type of loan. As always, the best advice I can give, is talk to a trusted and knowledgeable lender. They are going to know all of the best options for you and your individual situation]
Days On Market
Probably the most interesting and telling number is days on the market. The median days on market for Douglas County is 17 days, which is down nearly 60% from last month. This means that if you are a seller, and your home is priced right, it’s likely to sell quickly. And if you are a buyer, it’s important to look at the days on market, as well as the previously mentioned sale to list price ratio to determine your strategy. My suggestion, make sure that you are prepared to offer strong and move quickly.
Conclusion
In summary, we are still seeing a seller’s market. The low inventory that we have seen that keeps pricing high is moving in an upward trend, meaning we are seeing more homes on the market. But the overall volume of sold homes and days on market shows that there is no concern of softening prices. As I’ve already mentioned, we are seeing an increase in both volume and price, paired with a drastic drop in days on market which means we are seeing an increase in the strength and speed of the market. This could certainly be attributed to the season, so only time will tell if this is the usual uptick or more than that, but overall it would suggest that things are heating up.
And as I have said before, it wouldn’t surprise me if we see even greater demand as the weather gets nicer and more buyers start to venture out creating more competition and thus higher prices, homes going under contract even more quickly, and multiple offer situations. We are already seeing houses priced appropriately, selling within hours and getting multiple offers and this is happening with more regularity than even a few weeks ago.