January Real Estate Report for Richmond from James Wong

Upfront and frank Richmond real estate agent James Wong is out with his January report:

Home sales in Richmond for December, 2013 totaled 249 units were 14% lower than previous month’s sales of 288 homes.

Seasonally, housing activities were winding down due to poor weather conditions and many home buyers putting off their house hunting activities until after the new year. The drop in active listing from 2,045 to 1,700 units represented a 17% drop in total active listings compared to the month before. When compared to active listings the same time last year, current active listings were 13% lower.  

The supply of homes for sale in Richmond as measured by months of inventory (MOI) dropped from 6.25 to 5.20 could be a short temporarily year end display. More listings are expected to hit the market in the coming weeks in January and February. 

The MOIs for the three housing types, all improved due to significant drop in active listings for detached homes, townhouses and condos. Home sellers are more positive now that the supply of homes had tightened, and home prices overall appeared to be holding their ground. Compared to a year ago, total Richmond home sales in December at 249 units were 48% higher than the 138 units posted a year ago. 

Richmond housing market outlook 

Home sales in Richmond for January is expected to remain subdued, with slight increase in sales for February. The lack of sufficient inventory and new listings will tamper buying activities until later part of February when more listings are expected to show up. Well priced properties are expected to be well received and sell readily. 

Although home sellers of million dollar homes are under pressure to drop their prices, many sellers are holding on to their asking prices hoping to cash out at prices meeting their price expectation. Sellers were turning down offers falling short of sellers’ prices. 

The current statistics for Richmond detached homes are:

• Single family detached homes listed for sale - 642 homes 

• 446 (71%) of these homes are over $1,000,000. 

• The average past 3 months sales for homes over $1.0 million was 52 homes. 

• MOI for detached homes over $1,000,000 is 8.58 months of supply. 

• Total single family detached homes for sale over $1,500,000 - 260. 

• The average 3 months sales - 21 units with 12.38 months of supply.

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