December and Year End Market Update
I can hardly believe that December is over, and we are into 2024 now. So looking back at all of the housing sales for last year, there are some interesting trends.
Ironically, in December, we had a slower month than is typical, but it's always probably the slowest month of the year with holidays and other factors that come into play. However, we have the lowest amount of inventory currently that we have had in Richland County for quite some time. In fact, if I went back, it's at least for the past year, but likely a little bit longer.
We have 32 active homes, which are not currently under contract, actively for sale, and that is not very many considering the price points are anywhere from $80,000 to $600,000 and the number of openings are the highest that we have had in the course of the last year. So that is currently at 12, which is probably a following indicator from interest rates going down as much as they have in the last 30 to 60 days.
So we're happy to see that the quarter four home sales were approximately 4.3 million for the last quarter of 23. And the average sales price was down a little bit from the prior quarters, just at $270,000. This is not surprising given the fact that interest rates had gone up for most of 2023.
It makes sense that house prices would be going down. So the average sales price for the previous quarters was around $280,000. And, uh, the prior quarter was around just under $300,000. So that shows a slight decline in home prices and more bargaining power for buyers to be negotiating with sellers.
Now keep that in mind as interest rates are beginning to go down again. We are likely going to see home prices go up again. So if you're looking for a property now, it's a great time to be looking as interest rates are down, and you have maybe more bargaining power with a potential seller. And if you're selling your home, it just shows that inventory is really tight.
There's not a lot to choose from for home buyers right now. And so the likelihood of your property selling, if it is move-in ready and fits exactly what they're looking for, is going to be higher than it would have been 30 days ago. If you have additional questions, I'm here to answer any questions you might have.
