There were 509 single-family contracts that came together in Hartford County in February of 2014. This is slightly fewer than last month, and slightly more than February of last year.
Like February of 2013, the winter weather influenced the real estate market. This time it was a couple snow storms and severe cold. Sellers have been reluctant to list their homes for sale, for a couple reasons. They worry that the it’s not quite spring, so buyers haven’t yet begun their search. Sellers also don’t really want to deal with buyers tracking snow and dirt through their home. They’re not necessarily wrong, but move-in ready homes that are listed for sale seem to be selling.
The distressed portion of the market has been very active so far in 2014. We estimated in the year-end 2013 statistics that about 16% of the closings last year were either bank-owned properties or potential short sales. The winter months tend to have a higher percentage of distressed sales, likely because inventory is lower. For example, about 22% of contracts signed in the months of January and February 2013 involved distressed homes.
This year the percentage has crept up even higher. In the first two months of 2014, 28% of the contracts are on homes that are either bank-owned or potential short sales. It’s likely that some of the deals will fall apart, but not enough to bring us all the way back down to last year’s percentage.
It’s time to start thinking about spring, and the real estate market will be off and running at full speed before you know it. Most sellers should take a little time to get their home ready for the market – there are often smaller projects and tasks that they can do to make the property more attractive to buyers. Feel free to call if you’re considering a sale, we’ll be happy to tell you about the services we offer.
