OCEAN CITY
The condo/townhouse market in Ocean City has been extraordinarily active! The demand is slowly becoming greater than the number of available properties. At this time in there are only 646 active condo/townhouse listings in all of Ocean City compared to 1,038 available properties as of July 28, 2016 and 1,250 active on the same date in 2015. This shows a reduction of 48% in active inventory in the last two years.
WORCESTER COUNTY – Condo/Townhomes
Taking the entire county under review, currently there are 679 active listings for condo/townhomes in all of Worcester County compared to 871 that were active on July 28, 2016, and 998 that were active on the same day is 2015. These statistics indicate a 31% reduction in available condos for sale between 2015 and today’s date, decidedly pointing to a definite seller’s market.
Looking at condo/townhouses, County wide, in the sold category, there have been 776 units sold so far in 2017 with an average sold price of $276,298. These numbers may be compared to 627 condo/townhomes sold in Worcester County for the same dates (January 1 – July 28, 2016) with the average sold price of $265,340 . Showing a 23.7% increase in the number of condo/townhouses sold from 2016 to 2017.
The average sold price for these same condo/townhouse properties in Worcester County was $276,298 in 2017 vs $265,340 in 2016, and $268,829 in 2015. Proving the prices have increased as well as the number of units sold, thereby showing a modest 3% trend in increasing property values.
WORCESTER COUNTY –SFH (Single family homes)
Single family homes in Worcester County shows a slightly tighter market with a meager 426 currently active listings. Regarding the sold SFH properties, 508 have sold so far this year with an average sold price of $281,502. Comparing this statistic to 2016, there were 549 active listings on July 28, 2016, and 497 homes had sold, for an average sold price of $279,768. For comparison purposes, there were 673 active homes as of July 28, 2015 with 472 sold at an average of $255,617. This indicates an increase of 5% in homes that were sold from 2015 to 2017. The average price of the sold SFH shows a property value increase of 10% between 2015-2017.
While property owners may be encouraged by the tide of available buyers, frequently the most prominent question on a seller’s minds is; what is the best time to list a property on the MLS (multiple listing service). In looking back over monthly statistics from January 1, 2013 until June 30, 2017, the statistics show higher sale volumes each year between March –June and September -October. Collectively, over the years, March shows the least number of sales of the three best months at 276 SFH sold and 388 condo/townhouses sold. The month of April has brought 393 SFH sales and 518 condo/townhome sales. The sales was strongest in May (within those years) totaling 361 SFH sold and condo/townhomes at 624. June sales were slightly lower with a sales total of 406 SFH and 519 condo/townhomes. Keep in mind potential buyers will search and view properties in advance of settlement. A formulation of an offer frequently occurs 30-90 days prior to settlement.
The least productive months for settled properties proved to be July – August, and November-February with January showing the lowest number of settled properties at 213 SFH and 221 Condo/townhouse sales.
With September fast approaching, indicating the next sales season is nearly upon us, I would recommend anyone interested in listing their property (on the sales market) to contact their local REALTOR now to possibly catch the September to October potential buyers.
