Finally getting around to a year end wrap up of 2019 – it’s a few weeks past due – but better late than not at all! Our 2020 market is popping right now – with January sales up 10% in the number of units sold and a whopping 11% increase in total volume. This means that either homes are selling for more money or that more expensive homes are selling overall… or a combination of both.
Looking backwards at 2019 shows that we ended up with 1% LESS homes sold in 2019 (over 2018) but that that the market overall down 2% for the total dollar volume of sales. ($391M in 2019) So, in all, let’s call this year practically even with 2018 with those numbers. The average home sale price was identical between the two years – both at $584k, but the average price per square foot dipped a bit – it’s now currently $280 for 2019. Also telling was the drop in lot sales – we sold 20% less units in 2019 over 2018. We must have had an extra blip of sales in 2018 to make 2019 seem slow – but it’s on par with 2017 numbers. I’d still attribute slow vacant land sales numbers to the high prices of construction. In most cases it is still more expensive to buy a lot and build a house than it is to buy and existing house.
When looking at the year end stats, there are two numbers that jump out to me: first is the total number of luxury home sales – and they moved upwards again last year. There were 60 homes that sold for $1M+ last year – compared with 52 the prior year. Some of this inventory is new developments – including Seven Canyons and Sedona Ranch – but that shows that we’ve got some level of pent up demand for some new construction in that price range. Second item is inventory – home inventory is at a low – with only 252 homes on the market. Cut out the ones that are currently tied up with buyers and you’ll find only 192. And if you cut out the luxury end of the market (over $1M) there are only 117 truly available homes under $1M in the Sedona area (areas 40-46 for our local MLS).
I’m working on some video content for the future – but if there’s anything you’d want to see – just reach out to me to let me know!
