According to the Lake Havasu Market Report for October 2021, total sales fell off a bit. But that is typical for this time of year. However, prices hit their highest median point for the year so far. And inventory inched up a little from September’s numbers. How does this affect Lake Havasu City home buyers?
Lake Havasu Market Report for October 2021
October 2021 Home Sales
Our local MLS reported a total of 205 properties sold in Lake Havasu City during October 2021. That marked a 26% decrease from the total sold in October 2020. It also showed a 9.8% decrease from September 2021’s total. Even so, we still show 4.1% more total sales for the year so far than we did at this time last year. Pending sales rose from 239 in October 2020 to 282 last month. Active listings also rose slightly from 447 last October to 455 last month (a 1.8% increase).
October 2021 Sale Prices
Even with declining sales, prices continue to rise. In fact, they hit their highest median point this year at $439,000. July’s median sale price of $437,500 came in second. October’s median sale price was 20.27% higher than just 12 months before.
October 2021 Inventory
Low inventory levels continue to plague Lake Havasu’s home buyers. While the 1.87 months available inventory was slightly higher than September 2021’s 1.68, it decreased almost 10% from October 2020’s 2.07. In fact, we have not seen inventory levels above two months since last November. The median days a property stays on the market before going under contract rose slightly from September, going from nine days to 13 days. (By the way, last October, the median days on market was also nine days.) Even so, that means a Lake Havasu property only stays on the market for less than two weeks before finding a buyer. So, you still need to be ready to submit an offer with a pre-approval letter when you find a home you love. Therefore, talk to your lender now about getting that pre-approval letter ready before you start your home search.
What Buyers Need to Know
Home sales tend to slow down at this time of the year. Most people focus more on the holidays than on buying a Havasu home. For sellers, this means that the people looking at your property tend to be more serious buyers instead of just looky-loos. For buyers, this means less competition for available homes for sale. Interest rates for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages remain the same as they were this time last month (3.125%, according to Wells Fargo). They have hovered around 3% for the last couple of months (sometimes above, sometimes below). Some financial experts say that we should expect home prices to remain between 7-9% higher than at the same time last year at least through the end of 2021. They also expect interest rates to continue to rise. So, if you want to take advantage of lower interest rates, you need to act now. First, contact your lender. Then, contact me so we can put together a game plan for your next home purchase.
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