Leavenworth Real Estate 2008 Year in Review
2008 has been a rough year. The stock market lost nearly 40% of its value and real estate values nationwide have taken a hit as well. (At the end of November, national home prices were down 13% from the same time in 2007.)
In January of 2008 I was able to report that average home prices had climbed 18% despite a drop in the number of homes selling.
Here is what I predicted for 2008.
What will 2008 bring to the Leavenworth real estate market? I think much depends on external forces. What will the U.S. economy do? How will the stock market fare? How will the technology companies like Microsoft, Adobe, and Nintendo do?
I tend to think we will see a slight increase in prices with longer market times and about the same number of homes sold in 2008 as in 2007. (Check back in January 2009 to see if I’m right.)
Well, I guess I was right to couch our market in relation to the stock market. If I had seen that coming, I would have pulled out some investments and stuck the cash under my mattress.
How did I do in relation to volume, market times and prices?
Number of Homes Sold in Leavenworth
Only 98 single family homes sold in Leavenworth and Lake Wenatchee in 2008. This is down 20% from 2007. (124 homes)
Leavenworth Home Prices
The average home price in the Leavenworth area dropped in 2008 from $415,000 to $389,000 or 6%. However, the median home price in Leavenworth went up 2% from $342,000 to $350,000.
Does that mean home prices went up or home prices went down? I think it means that Leavenworth home prices stayed stable in 2008 which is a great consolation considering the alternatives.
(Delving into the numbers, it looks to me like the decrease in average home prices is mostly a reflection of lagging luxury home sales in Leavenworth. Fewer homes sold above $500,000 in 2008 and they sold for less money. There were also three properties that sold for above $1 million in 2007 that really weren’t residential properties but rather commericial buildings or development opportunities.)
How long does it take to sell a home in Leavenworth?
In 2007 the average home took 139 days to sell. In 2008 that number bumped up to 145. I guess I was right on that one.
How about 2009? What are your predictions for the Leavenworth real estate market?
**********************************************************************************************************
Required Disclaimer
NOTE: This representation is based in whole or in part on data supplied by the North Central Washington Association of Realtors or its Multiple Listing Service. Neither the Association nor its MLS guarantees or are in any way responsible for its accuracy. Data maintained by the Association or its MLS may not reflect all real estate activity in the Market.
