Ada County – Existing/Resale Homes – February 2023
Ada County has seen a lot of changes in its real estate market in recent years, and February 2023 was no exception. In this article, we’ll take a closer look at the latest trends in Ada County’s housing market, including median sales prices, sales volume, market times, inventory, and distressed sales. We’ll also discuss how these trends impact both buyers and sellers, and what they should consider when navigating the current market.
Median Sales Prices: A Declining Trend Continues
In February 2023, the median sales price of homes in Ada County was $492,115. This represents a 10.5% decline from the same month in 2022, and the fourth consecutive month of annual decline in price. However, the median sales price increased by $5,000 from the previous month’s price. This uptick in prices may indicate that we’re reaching a new normal with prices, but mortgage rates and supply versus demand will ultimately determine where prices go in the future.
Sales Volume: New Homes Drive The Market
In February 2023, more than 40% of all home sales that closed were new homes, which typically sell for more than existing/resale homes. This higher-than-average share of new construction sales likely kept the overall sales price a touch higher than the month prior. However, with 613 total sales for the county, closings were 7.3% lower than the same month last year. This is the first time since June of 2022 that we didn’t see double digit annual declines in the number of sales.
Market Times: A Slowdown Continues
Market times continued to slow last month, with homes that closed in February spending an average of 78 days on the market before going under contract. The last time we saw DOM — the average number of days between the time a home is listed and the time it is under contract — higher than 78 days was in February 2012. Despite last month’s market times being similar to February 2012, other metrics indicate that market conditions were quite different.
Inventory: Supply Versus Demand Driving Prices
Inventory counts at the end of February 2023 were roughly half of what we saw in February 2012, when our market was in the midst of recovering from the burst of the housing bubble. In today’s market, home prices are being driven by supply versus demand, not speculation like we saw leading up to the Great Recession.
Distressed Sales: Fewer Distressed Sales In Today’s Market
Another indicator that today’s market is different is the percentage of distressed sales. In February 2023, only 0.3% of sales in the county were considered distressed, compared to 45.4% in February 2012. Today’s sellers are in a much better credit position than they were over a decade ago, and that’s a big reason we’re seeing so few distressed sales.
Impact On Buyer’s And Sellers
The current real estate market in Ada County has both positive and negative impacts on both buyers and sellers.
Seller: Need to Adjust Marketing Strategies
Sellers should work closely with their real estate agent to price their homes according to the current market conditions and determine the most effective marketing strategy as the market adjusts.
Buyers: More Negotiating Power And More Time To Decide
Buyers, on the other hand, have more negotiation power, more time to decide, and more options to choose from than we’ve seen in recent history. There were 1,039 homes available on the market at the end of February, compared to 493 for the same month last year
