In this quarter for the CharlAlbemarle Market:From 1 Janurary 2006 to 5 April 2006 in Charlottesville/Albemarle, there were 259 price changes and there were 451 price changes in 2007.  There is no way to discern whether these were all price reductions, but a reasonable assumption is that the vast majority of the changes were downward.476 properties (single family, attached and condos) sold in 2006 and 342 sold in 2007.665 went under contract in 2006 and 635 went under contract in 2007.1555 were listed in 2006 and 1216 were listed in 2007.For the entire MSA**:2148 were listed in 2006 and 1850 were listed in 2007.943 went under contract in 2006 and 888 in 2007.715 were sold in 2006 and 532 were sold in 2007.* Source: Charlottesville Area Association of Realtors MLS, whose data is “good enough for now”** Charlottesville MSA = Charlottesville, Albemarle.

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Buyers, Sellers (and Realtors) would do well to take note of this chart depicting inventory numbers for residential properties in Charlottesville and Albemarle.  The short analysis: Houses are taking much longer to sell and buyers are being more demanding and patient….  The number of sales, year over year comparison, is almost half that of 2006.*ignore the “months inventory” column for “current 2007” Taking condos out of the mix:All-inclusive – Charlottesville, Albemarle, Fluvanna and Greene:From the Wall Street Journal:Large inventories have caused prices to level off or fall modestly in much of the country over the past year or so.  The recent surge in defaults on subprime mortgages — loans to people with blemished credit records — has prompted lenders to tighten credit standards.

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While Days on Market does not draw a clear correlation to market value, it can help start the line and add insight into the Seller’s motivation.When I review active listings in a particular market, I look at the days on market before I consider finer property nuances like condition, layout, room count and so on. It provides clues to the upper limit to value, helping define the possible value range of a property whose value we are estimating….  (bolding his)Our MLS is in the process of developing/implementing a “continuous days on market” category to make tracking this data more accurate.  Yet, we still have to depend on Realtors (the weakest link), who generally do not recognize the value the MLS data, to input correct information.  Understanding the data is one thing; understanding its limitations is another.Side note: I wish our MLS provider would practice the transparency that this MLS provider does; the insights are invaluable.

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One of the most important statistics offered via the MLS is the Days on Market – the number of days a particular property has been on the market is a good guide to the seller’s motivation, an indication as to whether they may be more willing to negotiate, etc. However, with every system comes those who try to “game” the system, by withdrawing a property and re-listing it, to make it appear as if a property is new, or “fresh” on the market.  Any system with no form of punitive measure to deter this behavior is potentially worthless.  From an agent in the Charlottesville area:I won’t mention names, but… I know one agent who changes the listing agent to another one of her partners and then relists the property so that it looks like she has been fired and a new one brought on. It doesn’t benefit anyone to have this kind of practice.Behavior and practices such as this damage the credibility of the MLS system and opens up more cracks in the MLS armor.  For this reason, I was and am quite pleased that my secondary MLS, MRIS, just came out with the following announcement regarding fines:Sweet.

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