The residential, single family dwelling market in Berkley is on the rise. This follows the rest of the Oakland County market. The average sale price in Berkley for 2013 second quarter rose over last year by $40,516 to $156,340. It rose over $12,000 from the first quarter of the year.
Some of that increase is affected by the top end of the market. But, the average square footage of each home sold over last year actually fell from 1,174 to 1,190. During the same time period the average dollars per square foot jumped from $ 98 to $ 131. This indicates that everyone selling a home in Berkley is benefiting from the improved market.
One of the reasons for the increase in average sale price is a belief that the market has bottomed out and homes prices will begin to increase. This, with an almost all time low in mortgage rates and an improved economy, has brought buyers into the market.
Another reason for the increase in the sale price and the per square foot numbers is due to a steady decrease in the number of bank owned and other third party ownership properties and the number of short sales. There are risks in purchasing third party owned and
short sales that makes them different than private owner sales. But, buyers tend to consider them when making offers for private owned properties. This is mostly due to the function of including them when comparing similar homes in an area to the one that the buyer is making an offer on.
short sales that makes them different than private owner sales. But, buyers tend to consider them when making offers for private owned properties. This is mostly due to the function of including them when comparing similar homes in an area to the one that the buyer is making an offer on.
All of this has pushed inventory of homes on the market in Berkley down. At one time during second quarter, there was less than a month’s supply of homes on the market. Many homes were selling so fast, that signs hadn’t been placed on the front lawns yet. A statistical indicator of this was the increase in the difference between list price and sale price. Last year in second quarter, homes on average were selling for about $2,700 less than the average list price. But, in 2013’s second quarter, homes were selling for $329 over list on average. Part of this is due to agents and appraisers being more conservative when estimating the market. But, another reason for this is the intense competitiveness in the market. Often, there are multiple bidders on a single piece of property. When a buyer loses out a couple of times on the home they want by bidding under or at list, they will eventually bid higher than list to insure they get the property.
No one can predict with any confidence what the market will do in the coming days as we enter the third quarter of the year. But, many believe that the market will begin to level off at a much healthier rate than last year. The numbers from last year and the first quarter of the year indicate that may be the direction the market is heading.
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All numbers from Realcomp.
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