Middlebury — Nationwide, the residential real estate market remains flat if not bleak, but there are some regional areas where the patient seems to be slowly recovering. Here in Vermont, two such recovering patients appear to be Chittenden and Addison counties.
In Vermont, the real-estate outlook is rosier than most places, but it is rosiest in these two counties. Of course if you live there and your home hasn’t sold yet, you may have a different opinion, but according to the Coldwell Banker Bill Beck Real Estate office in Middlebury, third quarter unit sales—across the real estate board—in Addison County posted “some impressive gains.”
What’s the reason for Beck’s encouraging report card?
“Compared to the same time frame last year,” Beck reports in his quarterly “Market Update” newsletter, “Addison County sales were up 18 percent, (and) Chittenden County up 37 percent and Rutland County up 9 percent. Statewide, sales were up 24 percent for the third quarter, but up only 2 percent for the first nine months.”
Beck admits Vermont’s first quarter was lackluster but these new indicators are very encouraging to sellers and buyers alike.
“The market seems to be going in the right direction,” Beck notes.
Looking at Addison County, Beck reports 40 sales in just the first few weeks of October. He considers this “very comfortable”. Let’s hope this trend line remains on the up tick with the caveat of knowing that the fourth quarter is not a very busy time for real estate agents in Vermont.
Beck reports prices have moved up, which is very good news for sellers (maybe not so good news for bargain hunters). In Addison County, for example, the average unit sale price is $266,946 with the media at $242,000.
“Those numbers are considerably higher than the year-end totals for 2010 when the average sale was $235,388 and the median price was $211,000,” Beck’s newsletter reports.
But not unexpectedly, “upper end” sales in the county accounted for 2011’s most encouraging news. During the first three quarters this year, there were 24 sales over $400,000 with only 12 the year before. The bigger, the fancier the home, or so it appears, the more likely it is to sell—at least in Addison County.
So, let’s get a jump start on New Year’s Eve and raise our glasses to toast the newborn fourth quarter in local real estate; may she be as encouraging as the first three.
