Happy New Year! We are gearing up for a busy 2016, as soon-to-be sellers are prepping for the spring market. The initial appointments where people are prioritizing projects are already well underway. We are watching the market hotsheets, and despite the very low inventory levels in West Savage (at this time there are only 7 active properties) new inventory is already hitting the market in the greater Savage, Shakopee and Prior Lake area. We are even seeing some lakeshore properties start to come on.
We found that November and December 2015 were far busier than August and September. As crazy as that sounds, we saw the same trend in 2014. Low interest rates that were characteristic of these markets may be contributors. A mild early winter certainly helped. Also, by this time last year, the relocation markets were already starting to gain steam. We have not seen that yet this year, but it’s just around the corner.
We are predicting an early-to-normal start to the spring selling season, with the time period around the Super Bowl being the big opening charge. We have not seen any detrimental effects thus far as a fallout of TRID, though as we enter the heart of spring market, we must be mindful of aggressive closing dates coming across on purchase agreements that land on our desk. If anything is causing some uncertainty to the mindset of buyers and sellers, it is the circus surrounding the upcoming election. Distressed properties coming on the market are few and far between, and currently there are zero in West Savage. And while some sellers still fret their impact on home values, they shouldn’t.
This month, single family and townhome inventory in Savage and Scott County has declined, though not by much. The West Savage absorption rate is 1.75 this month. That means if zero new homes come on the market, it will take 1.75 months to sell our existing inventory.