Tri-City Homes Hit Their Highest Average Sales Price in 2011

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What an interesting year! No federal tax credit, record-low interest rates, and a booming Tri-Cities economy combine to create an fascinating picture.

Two seemingly disparate facts tell the 2011 Tri-Cities real estate story.

#1 – Total sales for the year – 2,734, which is the second lowest total within the last ten years. (The lowest was 2,619 in 2002.)

real-estate-sales-2011

#2 – Average Sales Price – $202,500, which is the highest average sales price our market has ever had.

real-estate-sales-price-2011

Hmmmmmm…

So, even though fewer people purchased a home than in years past (lending restrictions were tightened, the national unemployment picture had some locals worried), the ones who DID buy a home spent more than in years past.

I said it several times, and it bears repeating: If you’re going to buy a larger home (which almost always translates to a higher price tag), do it NOW, while rates are low.  A $200,500 house purchased when rates are at 6%, (20% down, principal and interest only), will give you a monthly mortgage payment of $956.89. But at 4% interest, you spend only $763.23 — almost $200 a month in savings!

Demand was low last year, supply was steady, and prices went up.  That means appreciation for our market.  Any year with houses selling for more than the year before is a good year.  Also, when it’s a nice, solid appreciation of 2%, that’s very good news. It means the market isn’t getting ahead of itself and there isn’t runaway inflation happening.

Take a look at all the stats for yourself, and call me if you have any questions about any given graph.  And happy 2012!

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About The Author
Cari McGee

My husband and I came to the Tri-Cities in 1994, and we thought it would be a temporary stop on our way to larger cities. He was a television sports anchor at the time, and we planned to go wherever the "next step up" took us. Twenty-plus years later, we're still here and we've loved every minute of it! We have two children now, and we've found the Tri-Cities area is a wonderful place to raise a family. It's a great place to do outdoorsy things -- I like to hike Badger Mountain or run along the river path. I also love reading ... by a cozy fire in the winter or a beautiful picture window in the summer (with the A/C on!). I've been a licensed Realtor since 2004. I earned my managing broker's license in 2016, which means I can run my own brokerage, or create a team of real estate agents and supervise them, which is exactly what I did when I formed the Cari McGee Real Estate Team in 2018! We have administrative and marketing personnel, as well as additional agents to serve you. I became a director of the Tri-Cities Association of Realtors Board of Directors in 2016, became Secretary/Treasurer of the organization, and was elected to Vice President in 2019. Want to talk about real estate? Click here to schedule a meeting with me!

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