2017 is off to a sterling start. 1st Quarter 2017 turned out to be the strongest Sedona Real Estate Market of the decade. Sales for single family residences, luxury homes, condos, and even vacant land are up markedly over last year. So are prices – with land, of course, being the exception to the rule.
Sales for the bellwether Single Family Residence Sector advanced 8 percent over 1st Quarter 2016. Price appreciation was even more impressive. The Median Record Selling Price (MRSP) jumped 13 percent to $510,000. The peak of the market in 2006 was about $600,000. We’re 85 percent of the way toward that. The Average Price Per Square Foot is up a more modest, 7% to roughly $237.
The Average Sale-to-list Price Ratio remains at 96 percent – meaning that, on average, homes sold at 4 percent below their final list price. Luxury homes have averaged 92 to 94 percent.
Another seller-friendly trend is the decline in Cumulative Days on Market. Once it hits the MLS, a home takes an average of 203 days to complete a closed sale. That’s down 9 percent from last year and 17 percent from 2015.
The most encouraging sign of the market’s gaining momentum is the striking 32 percent jump in Pending Sales. These are homes that are presently under contract, but haven’t closed escrow yet. That’s the most solid indicator where the market is heading and it’s exceptionally buoyant now.
That display of vigorous demand combined with our unprecedented low inventory will continue to put serious pressure on housing prices. At the end of the 1st Quarter 2016, there were 290 single family homes on the market. This year: 192.
We’re seeing shockingly low inventory in the full spectrum of the housing market from luxury homes to condos. In 1st Quarter 2017 there were 47 million dollar homes listed versus 70 in 2106. Among condos and townhomes there were more sold (32) this year than are presently listed (27). Last year, there were 18 sales in the 1st Quarter.
As noted in last month’s column, luxury home sales are enjoying their best start since 2007. So far, prices have not shot up appreciably in the sector, but they will if demand stays high and supply low.
Late to the party is the Vacant Land Sector. The good news: 1st Quarter 2017’s 26 land sales doubled 2016’s. The bad news: prices dropped. The MRSP of $108,000 was the lowest since 2000. That’ll go up when the Pending sales start to close, but it’s still a long road back. That said, I do see this as a Come-back Year for land, particularly with housing inventory so abysmally low and prices increasing.
All in-all, there is plenty of momentum for an exceptionally robust Sedona real estate market this year, across-the-board.