Monday Morning Coffee Break: Ventura County Real Estate Doing’s For the Week Ending May 31, 2008

June 1st, 2008 Categories: Weekly Real Estate Activity In Ventura County

Changes continue in the Ventura County market place and a big change has been made in the presentation of the statistical data made in this weekly column.

The data has been divided into two charts.

The first chart focuses on the activity just for the previous week. In this case the week of May 25, 2008 thru May 31, 2008.

The information includes all new listings contracted during the week; total recorded sales for the week; the average list price of homes sold; the average sales price of homes sold and the variance between list and sales prices.

The second chart contains the same information but differs in that it is a summary view of Ventura County activity since the beginning of the year thru May 31, 2008.

This change will help the reader to view weekly data in its context in addition to providing a birds eye view of the cumulative activity occuring within Ventura County by major area.

Comparatively speaking Ventura County real estate is doing well. When looking at areas such as Merced, Stockton, Modesto, Yuba City, Salinas, Bakersfield, Vallejo, Riverside, Sacramento, Fresno and Madera, Ventura County has held up extremely well in this period of adjustment.

But things are changing positively for these areas. Refer to the article May 2008 Selected Cities Real Estate Appreciation Trends Report and Major Cities Real Estate Appreciation Trends Report, in particular the California sections.

Likewise when viewing real estate thorughout the United States (refer to Quarterly Changes To United States Real Estate Landscape article) most of the US is projected to see real estate growth of 1% to 4%.

Closer to home there were 104 recorded sales in Ventura County during the week of May 25 thru May 31, 2008. The variance between average list price and average sales price approximated 4.6%. Days on the market for sold homes was about 3.4 months.

There was a 6% increase (264) in new listings during the week for a County total of 4,430 listings for the period ending May 31, 2008.

Overall the variance between list price and sales price appears to be diminishing. Listing price are being corrected in accordance with what the market will bear. Days on the market for homes appears to have stabilized at about 3 months. (Note: Review articles Fix The Little Things To Sell Your Home And Add Value and Buyers Love Neatness for suggestions to make your property stand out from the competition).

Since January 1 thru May 31, 2008 there have been 2241 properties sold, or an an average sales of 448 homes each month. If this continues the total projected sales in the County will approximate 5,378 homes. This annual total will be less than the year 2007.

This may occur since individuals have to adjust to higher fuel and food prices. In addition lenders have implemented stricter standards for purchases and refinancing. For example, mortgage loans based on stated income for all practical purposes is a thing of the past. Likewise first time home buyers are having difficulties finding financing for purchases.