Hardin County Housing: 431 Active, 4.4 Months Supply

Key Takeaways

• For October 29 to November 4: 23 new listings, 17 homes under contract and 28 closings
• 431 active homes and about 4.4 months of inventory, steady after 432 active and about 4.5 months the week before
• Average days on market rose slightly, from 82 to 85
• Median sold price: $275,495, down from right around $290,000
• Rachel's read: a solid, middle-of-the-road market, with time still to get into a new home before the holidays

Summary

Rachel Brantingham brought three weeks of Hardin County numbers from the Heart of Kentucky Association of Realtors to map the trend. After a slow stretch, contracts rose from 14 to 17 and closings from 20 to 28 this week, and inventory came back down slightly instead of climbing again.

Her take for buyers and sellers: conditions are solid, homes still sell at a fair price, and there is still time to move before Christmas if you start now.

Full Article

Rachel is the CEO and rainmaker of The Brantingham Group at Keller Williams Heartland, and all the numbers she shares come from the Heart of Kentucky Association of Realtors. She enjoys mapping them every week, she said, and it has made her better at her job. This week she pulled three weeks in a row to show the trend. Hardin Local's website has a page with graphs of all of these numbers, so you can see how the market is moving.

Market activity: a rebound

Rachel said she was relieved by this week's numbers. Three weeks ago there were 29 new listings, 18 homes under contract and 23 closings. Last week was slower, with 31 new listings, only 14 homes going under contract, and 20 closings. She expected that slowdown to continue.

Instead, for the report period of October 29 to November 4, there were 23 new listings, 17 homes under contract and 28 closings. "We are seeing a slight rebound in buyer activity," Rachel said, "with contracts increasing from 14 to 17 and closings jumping from 20 to 28."

Inventory and days on market

Three weeks ago, Hardin County had 421 active homes and about 4.1 months of inventory. Last week that increased to 432 active homes and about four and a half months. Rachel expected the climb to keep going, to 4.7 or 4.8 months. Instead, inventory rebounded again: 431 active homes and about 4.4 months of inventory.

Days on market did increase slightly, from 82 to 85.

Prices

One of the most interesting numbers to Rachel was the median sold price, which has been on a decreasing scale. A few weeks ago it was right under about $300,000, and it had been right around $290,000. This week it dropped to $275,495. What that indicates, she said, is that as the market slows, people are having to be less aggressive about their price point.

What it means for buyers and sellers

"The market conditions are solid in our area," Rachel said. She knows there is always that neighbor's home that has been sitting on the market for a long time, but as a market in general, "we are doing just fine." She called Hardin County very much a middle-of-the-road market, not heavily buyer and not heavily seller.

For buyers, it is a good opportunity to get a great deal, because there are homes that have been sitting for extended periods. For sellers, there is still an opportunity to make a great amount of equity, but the home has to be in the right condition and presented at fair market value. "You do not want to overprice," she said. "You will sit, and it will be a bit of a mess."

Home for the holidays

"We can still get you home for the holidays," Rachel said. Several families are under contract this week. If you can't spend another Christmas dinner inside the same four walls, it takes about 30 days to close on a new house, though with market conditions like these, a seller would need to be aggressive on list price. For renters who have been thinking about buying, her team negotiates rent buyouts, so if you have four more months left on a lease, that can be part of the sale process, and the goal is to get you out of your rental and into a new home in time for Christmas.

Rachel expects the market to settle into these conditions for about the next four months, so it will be a slower season. If you are buying or selling in it, she said, you want someone who knows what it takes, so talk to a solid agent.

A question about long-listed properties

One of the hosts, thinking of a downtown business that has been on the market a long time, asked whether homes that sit for months, or sellers who are in no hurry, skew the market numbers. Rachel said days on market is an average across all homes, and there is no median days on market she can pull. The only median available is the sales price. And yes, she has plenty of sellers who are in no rush: she gives them numbers for a quick sale or a 60 to 90 day sale, and some choose to list higher and wait, even if it sells in the spring. Her advice: don't let one or two homes you have seen sitting on the market shape your whole perspective, because there are different stories and different owners behind each one.

Where to find Rachel and the numbers

Rachel's weekly numbers and the graphs are on the Hardin Local website. To reach her team, visit BrantinghamGroup.com or find Rachel Brantingham on Facebook.

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