It’s hard to believe that I am once again sitting down to write up another Smith Mountain Lake Market Report, not sure where the month of September went, but welcome to the October edition.
Statistically, September and October are the two busiest months for real estate here at the lake, and this year is no exception. Below are the featured highlights from the October market report:
- The average selling price of condos and townhomes continues to show improvement.
- The market is holding its own and keeping pace with numbers from last year.
- Vacant lot sales have increased which translates to a higher average sales price.
- Dependent upon the individual property and type, most sellers have competition to price according to what the market dictates if they want to sell their property in a timely fashion.
- Buyers have a lot of choices with the large selection of inventory, so it’s important to narrow down the field of properties otherwise the search can quickly become overwhelming.
Calling All Buyers:
You have the power to take advantage of the market conditions that currently provide high inventory levels and low-interest rates; you can use both of these elements to your advantage. Not only does the higher inventory allow for more selection to choose from but also it provides you with negotiation power in most instances. Read Dropping Prices and Making Deals to see some of the most recent “negotiation ready” listing activity in the market.
Attention Property Sellers:
We have seen 141 closed transactions of waterfront homes to date which roughly translates to an average of nearly 16 homes sold for each of the months in 2014. Current numbers from the Roanoke Valley Association of Realtors show 377 waterfront homes currently active on the market and an additional 41 that are in pending status. The 377 number of listings translates to over 23 months of supply based on current sales levels. Numbers are pretty consistent compared to last year’s across the board with the average days on market to date for 2014 at 290 days.
» View Additional Waterfront Listings Under $500,000
Water access homes currently show 117 active listings and 13 pending sales. This segment of the market has been averaging five homes sold per month and currently has 22 months of inventory.
While the months of inventory for condos and townhomes are at 28 months, the market is still warm with 14 sales currently pending and 182 active listings. Obviously a condo or townhome has similar attributes to neighboring units so the property itself can’t actually be as unique as a single-family residence. Therefore, it’s important to consider the competition on the market when pricing your property in this market segment. An average of 6.5 townhomes/ condos have sold each month in 2014.
» View Additional Condos & Townhomes
The inventory level for waterfront lots increased from September to October as we now have 61 months worth of inventory on the market. The good news on this market is that we saw 14 more sales over the same period of January through September of last year. An average of six lots are sold each month, and 11 lots are currently in a pending status with an additional 366 active listings.
Waterfront Lots & Acreage
» View Additional Waterfront Acreage Listings
Right Now = A Great Time to be in the Real Estate Market
The 2014 fall real estate season is here; the leaves are beginning to change colors and the local real estate market is colorful as well.
The picture here at Smith Mountain Lake remains a good real estate market.
Sellers: If you want to jump ahead of the competition then, you need to make sure that your property stands out. Provide buyer incentives and focus on the selling points that make your property unique when compared to the competition.
Buyers: Go into the property search knowing what you want out of the property otherwise it can be easy to become inundated with all of the choices on the market.
I hope that these market insights have provided you with valuable information on the Smith Mountain Lake real estate market. Please contact me if you are thinking about buying or selling as I would love the opportunity to work with you. I can be reached by phone at 540-797-3177, or you can email me.