Buyer demand continues to hack away at inventory levels, forcing prices to stay high. Even though the September 2018 Lake Havasu Market Report noted lower sales than last year, year-over-year prices rose to near record levels. Everyone, it seems, seeks to own a piece of the Lake Havasu lifestyle. That lifestyle comes at a price, though.
September 2018 Lake Havasu Market Report
Lake Havasu Market Report – September 2018 Sales
According to Flex MLS, a total of 143 Lake Havasu homes were sold in September 2018. That’s a 25.5% drop from the same time last year. Even so, year-to-date sales figures continue to outrun last year’s total at this time. Pending sales fell off slightly. Last September, Flex MLS reported 185 pending sales. This September that number declined 4.3% to 177.
Lake Havasu Market Report – September 2018 Prices
The September 2018 Lake Havasu Market Report showed a median sale price of $275,520. This marked a 12.6% increase over the $244,450 median sale price from last year. That’s also the second highest median sale price this year. August’s median sale price of $280,000 was the highest. The median list price came in just under $300,000 ($299,900), a 16.29% hike from the $257,900 last September. Buyers paid 91.8% of the median list price on average.
Lake Havasu Market Report – September 2018 Inventory
Active listings shrunk 20.4% (from 859 last year to 684 last month). New listings also diminished, with 240 shown in September 2018 compared to 263 in September 2017. This didn’t help inventory levels at all. They fell from 4.43 months available to just 3.24 months. Still, that’s slightly more than August’s 3.03 months available. The median days a Havasu home stayed on the market before finding a buyer dropped significantly, from 49 last year to just 13 last month.
What the September 2018 Lake Havasu Market Report Means for Buyers
While it might be difficult to find homes under the $300,000 range, it’s not impossible. Year-over-year inventory may have fallen, but it’s actually up slightly from the previous month. And inventory has slowly begun to creep up. We still need more new listings to come onto the market to swing things towards the buyer’s favor. Even with prices going up, we remain a much more affordable option for our neighbors to the west. That’s one of the reasons our secondary market is one of the hottest in the country right now.
Earlier this month, the Federal Reserve raised rates for the third time this year. Many experts believe they could raise them one more time before the end of the year. Currently, these rates sit at 4.89% for a 30-year fixed-rate loan, according to Bankrate.com. Another increase might tip them over the 5% mark. If you are thinking of buying a home, you need to start looking right now. The good news is that fewer buyers search out homes in the fall and winter. So, you have less competition for a Lake Havasu home. And I’m just the person to help you find one. Contact me when you’re ready to search for your next property. If you start now, you could be celebrating the holidays at a whole new address.
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