Spring into the Columbia Real Estate Market

Spring is here and the season keeps getting better.  Columbia has some very encouraging news to report in regards to the housing market.  A good indicator of the housing market is how many building permits are being pulled.  Those numbers are outstanding.  In January building permits for new construction homes rose 49% over the same month in 2011.  Likewise, February was up 14% and March was up 31%.  These are hard numbers that shows people are out there buying homes.  This is great for the real estate industry but also great for our overall economy.  Now is the time! 

The average days on the market has remained steady from 2011.  This is a nice change as well.  Over the last 4 years the average time on the market has increased every year.  With those numbers holding steady that is a sign that we are about to see it peak and start to fall.  Interest rates are still incredibly low and there are a number of programs available for people to buy a home with little money down. 

A final bit of information that Realtors will analyze is the absorption rate.  This is a ratio of the number of homes on the market versus the number of homes sold for every month.  The higher the number the worse it is.  A higher number says it will take more months to sell a home, this year our absorption rate numbers have gotten better every month compared with 2011.  This is probably the best sign of all!  The sooner we can get to a balanced market the better and we are well on our way! 

Contact an ERA Wilder Realtor of your choice and start planning your move because now is the time.

Andy Brumbaugh, Realtor