January 30, 2009
Condos Sales Down, Homes About the Same in Gulf Shores Area Real Estate for 2008
Let’s take a look at what happened last year in Gulf Shores area real estate sales compared to 2007.
The first graph you see is a 2007 / 2008 comparison of the number of condominium / multifamily (duplex) units sold.
Notice that the total number of units sold was down about 7.5 percent or 55 units.* A couple of things caught my eye. Sales of the less expensive units (less than $250,000) were almost identical.
The $250,000 to $450,000 price range showed a significant 27 increase over 2007. The next three price categories posted significant decreases as the purchase prices got more expensive. This drove the average sold price down nearly $50,000 from $392,685 to $343,310.
I would have bet you money that the average Days on Market (the number of days a property is listed) would have gone up but it didn’t. Both years figures were between 6 and 7 months.
The next graph contains Single Family Homes in Gulf Shores’ area real estate.
I thought it was significant that in 12 months of sales in the Gulf Shores area that the number of transactions in 2007 and 2008 were almost identical. Days on Market was very similar to the condo numbers – between 6 and 7 months. Average sold price dropped on Single Family Residences also but not as sharply as condos. This number went from $425,887 in 2007 to $397,253 in 2008.
* One thing to note – the MLS actually shows that there were 767 not 660 condominiums sold in 2008. The difference in this number comes from one thing. One developer has posted the closings of 107 pre-construction units in 2008. I believe this skews sales figures because although these were closed in 2008, they were actually “sold” approximately 3 years ago.
If you are interested in taking advantage of this buyer’s market, call me today at 251-948-1234 or email me at John@JohnRicks.com.