Market Stats Made for Dinner Conversations
Ever wanted to check your neighbor's unsolicited, unverified stats against reality?
I've added a few FAQs here to help give you talking points that matter.
(Hover your mouse or finger over the graphs for further details.)
Q: How has the Gig Harbor area compared to other local areas?
A: Gig Harbor's Median Home Prices are becoming closer to King County averages than to Pierce County averages. Covid and loosening WFH policies have made it easier for people to live in Gig Harbor and work remotely.
Q: If the housing market "crashes," how cushioned will Gig Harbor be?
A: Check out what happened between 2008 and 2014. Gig Harbor's housing market did not dip as much as we saw in other neighboring areas. Now look at the last 6 months. Gig Harbor's Median Price hasn't dipped down as much as neighboring areas.
Q: I see a lot of For Sale signs around town. Are there are more homes on the market than any other time?
A: Nope! While we are seeing more inventory on the market in GH than we did at this time last year, inventory still remains lower than any other time between 2006 and 2020.
Q: What should we expect going into the next season?
A: You see inventory levels peak every summer (later than the national average, btw). However, 2023 levels should be a wild ride. With climbing interest rates this year, I suspect the damn will break and pent-up demand will create spring bidding wars, once again.
Remember, date your rate and marry your home. I think this is still a great time to buy.
Q: How much were people paying over list price during the frenzy?
A: If everyone paid the same as list price, the graph below would show a straight line at 100%. Instead, we saw home sales averaging around 4% more than list price in '21 and '22. These were crazy times, no doubt. A dose of feel-good for you recent buyers: if you feel like you over-paid on your house, that 4% overage was the same as value as your home value just 2 months later, given an average 24% appreciation we saw back then.
Q: How much could we negotiate down from list price without losing out?
A: Home buyers and agents rejoice: the slowing market means better chances of negotiating. While we are still in a seller's market, we are now seeing homes sell for 4-5% lower than the original list price. Fear of the market affects both buyers and sellers, so make sure you hire an agent (me) that pays attention to the data and finds numbers that help keep your stance. In 2022, my average seller made 2.4% more than list price, and my average buyer saved 1.8% off the list price.
If you ever want to nerd-out on data with me, reach out.
With so many perspectives on the market, let's see what truly matters.
Get started with me today.
Connect with me to get answers to
all your questions.
Brad Bennett
bradbennett@windermere.com
Mobile: (206) 930-1597
Office: (253) 851-7374
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