2011 Chester County Real Estate Market Forecast
The 2011 real estate market forecast depends on who you talk to. There are conflicting signs but most experts predict a slow growth in sales nationwide. Real estate guru Barbara Corcoran has this to say about buying a home in 2011:
“Of course people are nervous about buying with so many mixed signals, but my advice would be: Do not wait. If there's one thing I learned about this real estate is that it's very slow to unwind and usually takes years to do it. But once it decides to turn around, those prices move up very quickly, and you'll just be joining every Tom, Dick and Harry bidding on the same house. If you have an inclination to move, you'll get no better time than now, with cheap money, cheap prices and an embarrassment of riches to choose from. Why wouldn't you buy now if you were so inclined? The only thing you need is a little courage.”
Let’s compare December 2010 to 2009 to real estate statistics to see what improvement has taken place in our local market.
Downingtown Area School District saw a 24% decrease in the average sales price in December 2010, compared to December 2009 to $333,258. Pending listings have decreased by 28%, while sold listings have decreased by 10%. There was a 14% decrease in active listings, while market times increased by 75 days.
|
Downingtown |
Active |
Pending |
Sold |
Average |
Average |
|
Dec 2010 |
31 |
18 |
37 |
$333,258 |
143 |
|
Dec 2009 |
36 |
25 |
41 |
$436,972 |
68 |
In the West Chester Area School District, there was an increased in Sold listings of 13% when compared to December 2009. And pending sales decreased by 4% in December 2010 when compared to December 2009. Average sales price decreased by 15% to $345,613 and active listings decreased by 10% from December 2009. Market times have decreased by 5 days.
|
West Chester |
Active |
Pending |
Sold |
Average |
Average |
|
Dec 2010 |
60 |
47 |
69 |
$345,613 |
92 |
|
Dec 2009 |
67 |
49 |
60 |
$404,775 |
97 |
Active listing have decreased by 38% in the Coatesville Area School District in December 2010 when compared to December 2009. The average sales price decreased by 4% to $198,739 and sold listings decreased by 8%. The number of pending home sales decreased by 9% when compared to December 2009, while homes were on the market on average 87 days more than in December 2009.
|
Coatesville |
Active |
Pending |
Sold |
Average |
Average |
|
Dec 2010 |
45 |
32 |
36 |
$198,739 |
138 |
|
Dec 2009 |
72 |
35 |
39 |
$207,528 |
51 |
A word of caution...markets within a school district can be very different from neighborhood to neighborhood. For the latest Chester County PA real estate market conditions in your neighborhood, please call me at 610-564-SCOT or visit ChesterCountyHomeSource.com.
