How Did the Market Treat Homes for Sale in St. Charles in 2012?

As we wrap the books on 2012, it’s helpful for us to understand where the market for single-family homes for sale in St. Charles moved last year.  As a St. Charles Realtor it’s my pleasure to provide this is quick snapshot of home sales data through December 31, 2012.

First, the number of homes for sale in Saint Charles actually decreased versus prior years.  That said, the number of closed transactions increased significantly, from 534 in 2010 to 602 in 2011 and 706 in 2012.  This growth was fueled by a slight strengthening of the economy, continued low interest rates and sales prices that have fallen nearly 35% from their peak in 2006.

The number of homes for sale in St. Charles that were sold “traditionally” in 2012 represented 73% of closed sales. Traditional sales are made by sellers who can pay back their loan after receiving the proceeds of the sale.   These are “healthy” transactions.

“Short” sales are sales where the proceeds of the sale don’t allow the seller to fully pay off the mortgage loan and the seller comes up “short”.  Banks have to agree to accept less than full repayment to complete a short sale.  The number of short sales increased in nearly every Fox Valley community in 2012 and St. Charles was no exception.  The percentage of short sales in St. Charles was 12% of total sales in 2012, an increase of 2%.

The number of foreclosures that closed actually fell by nearly 3% to 14.8% of sales.

While the percentage that sellers received off of their original listing price remained stable at approximately 89%, mean average prices continued to erode in St. Charles in 2012.  Mean sales price decreased 9.5%, from $349K in 2011 to $316K in 2012. 

Inventories are currently at very low levels as homeowners who don’t have to sell aren’t doing so.  This decrease in the supply of homes for sale in St. Charles should eventually cause the prices locally to stabilize.  This is particularly true as buyer demand continues to accelerate.

If you have questions about this data or would like other market information, feel free to contact me at www.scottnowling.com.

This representation is based in whole or in part on data supplied by Midwest Real Estate Data LLC for the period January 2010 through December 2012. Midwest Real Estate Data LLC does not guarantee nor is it in any was responsible for its accuracy. Data maintained by Midwest Real Estate Data LLC may not reflect all real estate activity in the market.