Mid Year Real Estate Review

The first half of 2015 is officially in the books! Can anyone believe it is already July?! It is time once again to take a look at the state of real estate in Lakewood and compare the first half of 2015 to what happened a year ago.

Sales in the first half of 2014 were brisk. Sales of Single Family Homes totaled 188 units. It took the average home only 84 days to sell! Almost amazingly, the average home sold for nearly 98% of list price!

This year, Lakewood has already witnessed 190 sales of Single Family Homes. The average Days to Sell dropped to 78 days! Nearly identical to last year, homes are selling for 97% of list price.

The Sales Volume for the first half of 2014 topped out at $31,267,276. This year is slightly ahead, registering in at $31,322,003. Lakewood continues to be one of the top locations for home buyers on the west side.

The largest differences between 2014 and this year can be found amongst list prices and sales prices. The Average List Price for the first half of last year was $163, 300. The Average List Price for 2015 increased to $173,000.

The Average Sales Price last year was $159,500 compared to $164,800 for the first 6 months of 2015. The Median Sales Price improved from $128,000 to $131,500. Lakewood is in a great position to post another solid year of modest growth and recovery.

The largest challenge for 2015 can be found in inventory levels. As of July 1st, there were 99 Single Family Homes for sale in Lakewood. Lakewood is averaging nearly 32 sales per month. At this pace, we have only 3 months of inventory on the market. This is historically low, especially for the summer months. The pace of sales, coupled with low inventory, makes this a strong seller's market. Not surprisingly, 35% of sales this year were at or over list price! Buyers, in fear of missing out on their dream home, are making strong offers. The days of low-balling and "stealing" homes are gone.

Sellers looking to take advantage of this strong housing market should do their homework. Talk to a full-time licensed real estate professional. Find out your home value at www.HomeValuesInLakewood.Info. Another good tool is www.HomeValuesInCleveland.Info. Home owners will be able to access a value range, view active listings in their neighborhood, and through the "Inside Access" feature, view sold and pending data.

Here's to a strong second half for Lakewood real estate!

Chris Bergin is a licensed real estate professional with Berkshire Hathaway Lucien Realty in Lakewood and can be reached at Chris@ChrisBergin.com.

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Volume 11, Issue 14, Posted 3:05 PM, 07.07.2015