Susie Shortsleve Offers an Overview of the Wellesley, MA Real Estate Market

The first month of the year can help set the tone for what the next 11 months has in store. Let’s take a look at January’s statistics with regard to the performance of real estate and what it value is to Wellesley.

There were a total of 20 single family homes sold this past month in Wellesley. There are currently 14 under agreement, waiting to close. 79 remain on the market; sales are up for the month of January by 30% comparative to January 2012.

The range of homes sold this past month include everything from a 2 bedroom one bath that was listed for $475,000 and sold for $389,000 to a nine bedroom nine bath and one half bath that was listed for $5,200,000 and sold for $4,625,000. As those transactions represent both ends of the extremes, and the averages paint a better picture of the market for this time frame. The average listing price of a single family home this year was $1,321,675, while the average sale price was $1,225,225. Only about a 7% differential means that sellers are getting close to what they are asking for on average; change is in the air. The roll over from a seller’s market to a buyer’s market is occurring since the sellers in our community are getting close to what they are asking. There is also low inventory, so if you have been thinking of selling, now is the time.  When making an offer on a home, buyers need to be conscientious of the asking price. Low-balling it might hinder your chances of winning the bid if the home is highly sought after by other buyers.

The average days on market for single family homes in Wellesley this year was 136, however, 5 homes, or about 25% of the homes that sold in January 2013, sold in 30 days or less. This is a very powerful statistic because it shows that homes priced correctly are selling.  It also shows there are buyers out there!

What these statistics show is a strong real estate market.  Historically January is known as a slower month for real estate, but based on these facts and figures, that was not the case this year.  This strong start is a signal that we are in for a robust spring market.

SUSIE SHORTSLEEVE
Real Estate Specialist
Century 21 - Shawmut Properties
405 Boston Post Road, Weston, MA
susie.shortsleeve@century21.com