Snapshot Of Tallahassee Real Estate Market Through August 2014

Every month we publish a real estate infographic that serves as a snapshot of the Tallahassee real estate market.

It's a way of conveying a lot of information through one simple picture, and you can download the update each month from here.

So what does this "picture" of our market have to say thus far in 2014?

Home Sales Decline

We have been warning that home sales were going to start to decline. For months, new contracts (pending home sales) have been on the decline, leading us to expect the resulting decline in closed home sales. Well, it certainly happened in August.

The number of closed home sales in August was down 16% when compared to August of 2013. Moreover, the decline was significant enough that year to date home sales are now identical to last year, despite having a super strong first quarter this year.

A market glutted with inventory needs more buyers.

Key Housing Market Trends In Tallahassee

This month's #infographic reports the following key trends:

• New contracts (pending home sales) were down 42%
• New listings (homes entering market) declined by 6%
• New failures (homes that left the market without selling) were up 19%
• New sales (closings) declined 16%.

The only good trend shown above is the decline of new listings entering the market. While this is a seasonal norm that was expected, it is still a welcome relief.

A very concerning trend that began more than six months ago is the decline in new contracts begin recorded by Realtors each day. The good news is that we have not seen this translate to an equivalent number of reduced closings, so I suspect there might be a combination of slowing new contracts as well as a "glitch" in how the Tallahassee MLS is reporting the number of new contracts each day.

We will continue to track the progress of these key trends in our market, as they provide an important insight into the changes in supply and demand for homes in Tallahassee (which determines whether home prices will rise or fall).

Using The Real Estate Infographic

Every month, you can download an updated infographic (always in the same format) to quickly assess the changes that are occurring.

If you are in the market to buy a home, you will see whether inventory and your competition are making it better or worse for you to get a great deal. Alternatively, if you are in the market to sell a home, you will see how your competition is currently faring and whether the market is strengthening or weakening for your future sale.

Whether buying or selling (or both), you can use the real estate infographic to keep your finger on the pulse of the Tallahassee real estate market. Of course, you can do even better than that by dropping me a note and scheduling a time for a personal consultation on your specific needs.