JOSH BUCHANAN

February 7, 2019

The first month of the new year is over and it appears that 2019 numbers are continuing the 2018 trends thus far. Sales came in just short of last year falling from 203 to 199 and listings declined by 67 units from 622 to 555.

The sales-to-listings ratio rose by 3 points from 0.33 to 0.36 thanks to a significant drop in listings and an immaterial decline in sales. The average sales price for the month dropped very significantly from previous Januaries, however, one month is not worth drawing any conclusions from.

Compared to the 5-year averages, this January’s sales numbers actually showed a slight improvement of 5 units while listings dropped quite notably by 125 units. The sales-to-listings ratio is up 7 points and up as much as 11 points compared to the weakest January which was in 2016.

Conclusion:

January is always a weak month for sales-to-listings ratios. A ratio of 0.36 is very poor but this is actually the highest ratio we’ve seen for any particular January since 2014. We may continue to see small improvements in the balance of supply in the market but don’t be surprised if prices don’t respond accordingly as they are very slow to respond to these changes and the ratios may very well still stay below balanced.

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