You are reading the 2015 Real Estate Report for Alachua County & Gainesville. The information in the report is through 12/31/2015. I take a look at home values, real estate trends, sales activity and the strength of the real estate market each quarter and share what we see with you. The report comes from information that local REALTORS® update in the local multiple listing service and won’t include every single transaction in the County.
Overview: Home Values and Real Estate Trends
The residential market is healthy in Alachua County, we’ve seen improvements in most of the important metrics for three to four years in a row.
Home Prices have increased for the last three years. The median price for 2015 was $204,455, up 6% from the year before.
It’s taking less time to sell homes, and even lesser if you list your house on Bonnie Buys Houses Fast website. However, it still takes almost 5 months on average. Days on the market have gone down for the last four years, we saw an 8% drop from 2014 to 2015.
Sellers are getting a lot closer to their asking prices when they negotiate with a buyer. Sale prices in 2015 averaged 96.3% of the asking price.
More properties are selling, whether you are looking at the number of closed sales or the total value of closed properties. The number of properties selling was up by 14% in 2015.
With prices coming up we are seeing more sellers listing their homes for sale. Although there are more sales closing demand hasn’t matched the increase of inventory, so we’ve had an increase in the absorption rate. We have about a 15 month supply of homes on the market and 11 months of condos, up from last year’s numbers of about a 14 month supply of homes on the market and 10 months of condos.
(That means it would take 15 months to sell all the homes on the market if buyers kept going at their current activity levels and no more homes came on the market)
For Sellers
With rising home prices there are more people able to sell their homes and break even or even walk away with money to invest in their next home. Many people have been trapped by their equity and stayed in a home that didn’t fit their lifestyle any longer. The larger number of homes on the market is a reflection of the pent-up need for families to move.
The Fed has increased interest rates, and is threatening to do it again to cool off the market. If you want to move it’s a good idea to get your home on the market before interest rates go up again and limit the buyers’ purchasing power.
There are buyers out there, but they have a lot of homes to look at. If you want your home to sell quickly it needs to stand out. If you are thinking of selling your home make it beautiful, price it right, and get as much exposure as possible where your buyers are looking for homes.
For Buyers
This is an exciting time if you want to move. There are a lot of homes to choose from, and interest rates are still great so you can get a lot for what you pay on your mortgage.
Many buyers are overwhelmed because there are so many homes to look at and they don’t want to miss out on an amazing deal. Keeping a few ideas in mind will help you stay in control.
Start by narrowing down your search by finding the homes that have the features you want (fireplace, 2 car garage, full yard fencing, etc.).
If you want the best deal on a home don’t fall in love with one home, try to pick out 2 or 3 that will work for you. If you do that then you have a better chance of finding a bargain.
Some of the best deals are homes that need some TLC, these homes are overlooked by most buyers because they can’t imagine how much clean carpet and fresh paint changes a room.
Get an idea of what other homes have sold for in the area, not just what prices they are asking, so you really know if you are getting a good deal or not.
Do you want us to help you?
If you want to know how this affects you we can help.
We can do the looking for you, and check out the details of the homes you like.
Contact us and let us know how we can help you.
Download the Full Report
The full report has stats on active, pending, and sold real estate for the 2nd Quarter of 2011 and 2011 year to date, as well as information on price trends, days on the market, and inventory supplies by price bracket.
Click Here to download the Gainesville & Alachua County Real Estate Market Report. (Adobe PDF file)
Based on information from the Gainesville-Alachua County Association of REALTORS or its Multiple Listing Service. Neither the Association nor its MLS guarantees or is in any way responsible for its accuracy. Data maintained by the Association or its MLS may not reflect all real estate activity in the market.