Welcome back balance; we've missed you.

As we near the end of August, parents are busy preparing for the upcoming school year, kids are enjoying their last days of freedom, and everyone is soaking in those last days of summer sun. September will bring the changing colors of fall, pumpkin spice lattes, and Northumberland's vibrant fall real estate. But before we jump into fall lets take a moment and look back on this summer's real estate market.

It's no secret that sales volume is down. You can’t pick up a paper or scroll through social media without seeing “market dropping” headlines. In Northumberland, unit sales were down; July unit sales were down by 31% vs. July of last year. Also the volume of listings increased 7% in July compared to the same period last year.

Now, before we get too concerned that the market is “crashing” and values are down; the average sale price actually increased by 14.8% vs July of last year.

So what does this mean? Contrary to headlines, we are not in a downwardly spiraling market. Yes, the volume of sales is down, but it always decreases in the summer months. We have also seen an increase in inventory, which brings us to a “balanced” market with roughly half of the inventory that goes to market, sells.

Balance is a good thing; neither buyers nor sellers have too much control. In a balanced market buyers can expect to be able to negotiate on pricing a little more, and sellers should expect conditions in presented offers. When buyers don't overpay and sellers don't under sell, it's a perfect healthy scenario.

Just a reminder that although sales volume is down the price of value of homes sold is not. It's up by nearly 15%.

In my opinion, all the talk of bidding wars and sky high pricing led to a surge of listings coming to market, and possible some unrealistic expectations of what ones home is really worth. Despite the hype, properties that are price and marketed effectively will sell. The ones that are not; won't.

As such, it's more important than ever to have a Realtor that market's your property to stand out among an increased level of completion, and can negotiate favorable terms when the offers do come.

For more information on market, and value of your home, call or text me anytime at 905-375-0062