Riverside Area Closing Stats by Price Range

Westcoe Realtors, Riverside California…Last week, we posted some information about the inventory stats for the 1st half of 2010 as opposed to the 1st half of 2009, and then drew some conclusions based on that data.  One of our regular readers asked if we could do the same for closed escrows.  Well….sure, and we can even break it down by price.  Take a look below.

Closed Escrows in Riverside California by Price Range

(note:  columns are straight when I type them, crooked when they get posted…what can I say?)

Price                                   Jan-June, 2009                         Jan-June, 2010

$100K-200K                            1349                                            1080

$200K-300K                            656                                                684

$300K-400K                            266                                                246

$400K-500K                            104                                                  82

$500K-600K                             31                                                    34

$600K+                                      27                                                    28

Totals                                         2433                                               2154

As you can see, the total closings in our area are down this year by 279 (11.5%) when compared to the same 6 month period of 2009.  However, given that the total inventory for 2010 is down 44% (see previous blog post) compared to the 1st 6 months of 2009, then a 11.5% drop in closings is really pretty good (sounds like the government and some of their statistics, eh?).

Political quips aside, this much lower than anticipated drop in closings really shows that our local Riverside area real estate market is stabilizing.  We have such a pent-up demand for housing that our real problem is the lack of homes to sell.  Think about it.  We have almost 5,000 less homes for sale (again, see previous blog), and far more buyers that want to purchase a home.  The net result is that the only reason our closing numbers are down from 2009 is that we simply cannot find enough houses to satisfy all the families that want to buy.  Give us a supply of homes that meets the demand, and you would see the closing numbers run off the chart.

In the end, this will ultimately balance itself out…it always does.  However, the big question is when? No crystal balls here, but our hope is that the banks cut loose with the inventory they have been sitting on for over a year, and that Realtors can do what they do best…help people buy homes.  Until then, we will all continue to make housing lemonade out of (the lack) of housing lemons, so to speak.

Take care, and if you have any questions, or need any additional stats on our area, just let us know.