Do you REALLY want to sell your house?

I just compiled the statistics for 2007 homes sales in the southern NJ area. The data is very interesting. I attempted to post the spreadsheet but of course my technical skills failed me & time is a commodity these days.

I'll try to summarize my perception of the statistics...here are the high/low points:

-- Days On Market (DOM) for homes SOLD hasn't changed much since the year 2000. The average DOM for 2007 was 101 days & the eight year average was 86. Selling a home does take some time regardless of the market temperature

-- Selling/Sold price to listing price in 2007 was 95.5%. This means the average home price was reduced a mere 4.5% from the asking price...no huge discounts here! Guess what the eight year average is?? Yep, 95.5%!!! If you want to SELL your home, price it within 5% of where you and your realtor believe the market will bear. Higher end homes had a 10% discount ($800k ++)

-- Number of homes sold (2007 vs 2006) was down 12% overall. Three & four bedroom home sales were down 14% (rounded). The 2007 home sales compared to the eight year average was down 18.4%...not nearly as many homes are selling in the SJ market

-- So you would figure since not many homes are selling the prices would be down? Hitch up your britches for this piece of information. Homes sold prices for 2007 vs 2006 are up a staggering 10.5% !!!!! Some of this increase is driven by higher end homes (5+ bedrooms) increasing by 26.5%. The average three to four bedroom home selling prices increased approximately 5%!! Now, please tell me how many people would have guessed that number? I've told you this was the case...the media information is specific to regional markets.

-- And if you bought a three bedroom home in the year 2000 the average selling price was $126 thousand. Guess what? That same average home cost you $276 thousand in 2007 or an increase of 119%!!!!!!!!!!! Has you mutual fund increased that much?

Okay, lets review. Number of sales are down, prices are up moderately, real estate remains a "solid" investment, keep your listing prices reasonable, and expect you home sale to take at least 90 days.

I am ready to help you with the real facts of home buying/selling/investing. Sometimes it difficult to accept reality but we will be successful!!

Thomas Edison said that success was 10% inspiration and 90% perspiration...that ole' Jersey boy was correct.

See you soon.

TW