If you go to the Freeman/Davis Team website, www.FreemanDavisHomeTeam.com, and scroll down just a little, you’ll find a box called “Neighborhood Snapshot.” It’s a cool little tool that allows you to get neighborhood specific statistics free. We have a team of automated bits and bytes and widgets ready to crunch the numbers for you so don’t let these guys spend too much idle time surfing the net. Put them to work and find out what’s going on in YOUR neighborhood or maybe, a neighborhood you would like to move to.
Now a lot of people have been asking me about Heritage Wake Forest recently. If you’ve driven through the neighborhood, you know that the streets are FULL of for sale signs. It’s not a sign that something is wrong with the neighborhood but rather a supply/demand cycle that is far from balanced, a condition I feel has been brought on my a rapid pace of new home building that has totally exceeded demand. Unfortunately, the loser is the “resale” seller on the market who is seeing days on the market climb while deep pocket builders offer deep discounts in an effort to sell their standing inventory.
Statistically, here’s what Heritage looks like. These numbers are for the $300k to $700k price point, only detached homes and all sales are within six months.
RESALE HOMES
45 Active – 16 Months Inventory
17 Closed – Average Sales Price = $395,385
1 Pending Sale
NEW CONSTRUCTION HOMES
55 Active – 5 Month Inventory
68 Closed – Average Sales Price = $436,215
5 Pending Sale
TOTAL HERITAGE
100 Active – 55% New vs. 45% Resale
85 Closed – 80% New vs. 20% Resale
6 Pending Sale
In summary, 80% of the homes sold in Heritage are New Construction, yet New Construction makes up only 20% more of the market than does resale homes, which on average sell for 10% less than the new homes.
With five months inventory of new homes on the market, I would think that builders would plan to maintain (or slow) their rate of building as well as cut back on some of the incentives offered in an effort to maintain that 5 to 6 month inventory of homes (which is close to normal). If the number of buyers increases, and that may be after the election, then we’ll see the resale inventory start to decrease and begin to see some balance between these two areas. I also believe that the rate of new home sales will need to slow down (a result of fewer incentives and price reductions) because gas prices and other economic factors will impact the building pace. Construction costs are up somewhat and I think that is a pinch that many builders are beginning to feel.
That’s the state of things in Heritage and it’s not the news we want to deliver. But there is good news too. If you are buying, homes are selling at lower prices in Heritage and there are deals. Just remember to take a closer look at the resale market. The resales are only a few years older than the new homes currently on the market AND you’ll benefit from, in many cases, owner installed features like window treatments, fences, custom landscaping and additional appliances (such as freezers, washer/dryers and refrigerators).
Give it some thought and search on our website, www.FreemanDavisHomeTeam.com for homes in Heritage, including our beautiful listing at www.1032HiddenJewel.com. At just five years old, it’s a true gem and with all the upgrades, the finished basement and more storage space than you can imagine, when compared to the slightly newer homes out there, it’s definitely a diamond in the rough! Call or email us and we’ll be glad to show it to you!