This month's report continues to show improvement in every market indicator. The pace remains steady at about a 10% growth over last year. The only area of concern is inventory. Typically, at this time of year we see the inventory building. That is not the case this year. The number of homes for sale in the mid market is very low and this is where most of the demand is.
Buyers are finding much less to choose from in today's market. Even though prices have not come up dramatically, sellers are less likely to negotiate. It is not unusual for a home well positioned in the market to sell quickly. An exception is the upper end over $300,000 which remains out of reach for most of our buyers.
Who are today's buyers? This is a question that has no precise answer but we have seen some trends that indicate a change from the past. This market is experiencing a significant number of people relocating here for jobs for the first time in years. Today's buyers are much younger. Nationally over 60% of buyers are under forty and our market is no exception with many of our buyers in the twenty-five to thirty-five age group. The other buyer we see a lot of is the investor. With rentals in demand, investors are focusing on the lower end market.
These three groups know what they are looking for, what they can afford and are decisive when they find the right property. The buyer who is trying to make a "deal" in our market often finds themselves missing out.
Just this week, I overheard a buyer make the comment, "I guess I should have bought four or five months ago. There is not much to choose from out there." There aren't many places around the country that you will hear that!
The average sales price for residential homes was $146,922 for the 12 months ending October, 2011, up 6.0 percent versus the same period ending October, 2010 when it was $138,627. The median price of residential homes for the 12 months ending October, 2011 was $128,950, up 5.1 percent versus the same period 2010 when it was $122,750.
Video Tour of Victoria, Texas.