Home Sales : Tooele City Leads The Way !
Home sales in the City of Tooele were pretty darned good last month. (compared to the rest of the county) . Don't call and tell me I'm flip-flopping, I know that last week I said home sales were down in Tooele. That was for the entire county. Actually from Salt Lake to Nevada, and everything in between(thats Tooele County). The City of Tooele actually accounted for 64% of the homes sold in the county. I'm sure you have heard the old saying, "in the land of the blind, the one eyed man is king". This is that !!!
Homes put under contract last month numbered almost twice the amount of business done in Stansbury Park and Grantsville combined. Granted the markets are different. Each appealing to it's own niche buyer. Horse property owners gravitating towards Grantsville. Commuters to Salt Lake finding Homes and town homes in the Stansbury Park area. ( Gamblers slipping off to Wendover)
Much of the demand in Tooele City comes from those families that originally purchased a starter home in Tooele during the boom, want something nicer now, but love the area, and the lifestyle and dont want to leave. I don't blame them, I don't want to leave either.
There were only 59 homes/condos listed in November which equates to only two months of inventory. Unlike the Grantsville numbers, none of these listings are new construction. Thats a healthy number, and would be considered to still be a sellers market. It proves the old adage that "All Real Estate is local".
TOOELE HOME SALES STATISTICS, NOV. 2007
Homes Closed: Twenty five Houses/Condos closed in November, with a total value of about $5,345,000. Average selling price per unit was $213,800. Most of these homes were sold within the last 60 days.
New Contracts: Twenty seven homes were put under contract last month with an average sales price of $177,740 for total dollar volume of almost 4.8 million dollars. The decrease in individual sales price bears watching to determine if it is related to product discrepancy or devaluation. If the latter case proves out then Investors need to take a long look at Tooele City.
New Listings: While the 59 new listings (a little over 2 months supply) appears to be a good sign, 46 homes did not sell and were pulled from the market for various reasons. I suspect that most of these properties were listed too high, and the seller either would not or could not reduce the price.
Conclusions: Counting on selling your home for what your neighbor did last year is no longer a good strategy. More than ever before, proper pricing is the key to selling your home. Make your agent show actual comps, before you give them a listing. Don't confuse values in one area with values in another. The reason I publish local stats every week, and have distinguished between Grantsville, Stansbury Park and Tooele City areas is because of these differences. Encourage your agent to do the same.
If your buying, this is a great time, but be patient, no longer any need to rush in before someone else steps in. The old adage, "money is made when you buy, not when you sell". is certainly in play here.
Whether buying or selling, be represented by your own Real Estate Agent, and make sure they are a skilled negotiator. They know where the best product is located and in this market they will earn their money.
If you don't have an agent, give us a call @ 435-840-5029. For more Real Estate Information check out my website @ Tooele Homes often.
Remember when it comes to Home Sales, Tooele City leads the way. ( In the County that is).
Good Luck. Thanks for being here.