By James Tautkus
Okay, when looking at our data from year over with the second quarter closing there are some differences worth mentioning right off the bat that don’t take data to realize and understand. To begin with, April was nearly a flat month in our market and around the country. Almost no real estate transactions occurring. Secondly, the market in June accelerated like the US entering WWII the day after Pearl Harbor with 75% more pending sales than 2019. So, instead of a steady climb into the selling season we basically had a break and then once comfort levels improved it throttled down. As you look at the tables with the market stats in them it’s easy to see that this is the story and also important to remember.
In the condo market, with the exception of Hailey, inventory is actually pretty even compared to 2019 including new inventory and units under contract. Sold units fluctuates a bit and this is where the story begins to present itself as sold volume is nearly reaching and exceeding last year’s totals. Keeping in mind that we were flat for roughly six weeks you’ll notice that average sale prices are above last years with the exception of Warm Springs. New inventory, higher prices, and a higher concentration of sales has pushed our market to keep up with the movement from the year prior.
The single-family market has responded well and differently in the second quarter. Remember there are still a lot of renters out there making plans to stick around with the anticipation of buying later on. The numbers are fluctuating, in some cases perhaps still recovering from the down time or still responding to lack of inventory. Notably Bellevue showing a 35% increase in total sales volume with only a 5% increase in sale price. Ketchum, who typically has a stronger third quarter is boasting by far the biggest numbers speaking to the mass exoduses out of higher populated areas that we’re all noticing locally. 85% increase in total sales volume and 36% increase in average sale price even with inventory being thinner than a year ago. Ketchum numbers does speak loud and clear to the shift in real estate as a result of the pandemic.
Vacant land has been a fun part of the market to study the past year as it’s come back in full force with lots of purchases and new construction occurring all over the valley. Though, the numbers aren’t soaring across the whole valley it’s evidently strong in Mid Valley, Hailey, and South County with sale volumes up 167%, 51%, and 88%. What’s really interesting to see is that Bellevue, who has been climbing for a year, has taken a dip. Sales Volume is down 37% and the average sale price has dropped 28% from 216k a year ago to 155k at the close of the second quarter. This to me is the biggest stand out in the opposite direction at this time.
Markets shift, change, and evolve with lots of contributing factors. To think a few months ago of the different perspectives as to how our real estate market would be impacted by this pandemic is almost laughable. It’s pretty clear that it has created a considerable acceleration in growth in most places in our market. Typically, there is a predictable pause in commerce during election periods. This will be our next factor questioning the growth of our market. If the trends we are seeing from the pandemic have any indication I’d say that we are still headed unstoppably northward.
