We recently had an opportunity to do 2 market analyses which showed how dramatically market conditions can differ from one location to the next. One property was located in a clear seller's market in Madison's Westmorland neighborhood. The other property was a higher priced listing located in a more rural buyer's market. Below we share a few examples from both market analyses which demonstrate how buyer's markets and seller's markets differ.
Seller's markets typically have low inventory levels and a high percentage of listings with accepted offers. These two traits run very strong in the Westmorland neighborhood. At the time of our analysis the Westmorland market had only .6 months of supply available for sale on the MLS. In addition, 50% of these listings were under contract with an accepted offer and scheduled to close soon. This high percentage demonstrates a market with a high listing turnover rate where the properties tend to sell quickly.
Traits of a buyer's market
Buyer's markets tend to have much higher levels of inventory and a lower percentage of listings under contract. This was certainly the case for the property located in the rural Sauk County market. At the time of our analysis, this market had 13 months of MLS supply and only 4% of listings under contract. These numbers demonstrate a market with a low listing turnover rate where the properties tend to sell slowly.
For this analysis we also took a look at expired listings and learned more listings expire than sell in the rural Sauk County market. This is another clear indicator of a market that generally favors buyers over sellers.
Every market is unique
These examples demonstrate two different markets on opposite ends of the spectrum. Chances are your local real estate market is somewhere in between. We can help you stay connected with your local market by performing quarterly updates for you. Every 3 months we'll help you accurately track your home's value based on a comprehensive review of the recent sales, accepted offers, and inventory available in your area.
Although Zillow's Zestimate and other tools like it can be interesting and fun to follow, these tools are rarely accurate. For best results, we recommend the 6-step approach described in this article. Just give us a call and we'll get started on your first quarterly update. Your quarterly updates will help you stay on top of local property values as the market continues to evolve in the months and years ahead.
