Winter housing market days are numbered
Homebuilding and sales started 2019 almost like “Groundhog Day” 59 days in a row— the 1993 Bill Murray flick, not Feb. 2. Not muchchanged throughout winter, according to the Oklahoma City Metro Association of Realtors. The average number of days a house stayed on the market before its old: 62 in January, and 62 in February. The percentage of selling price to listing price: 97 percent in January, and 97 percent in February. The average sale price was virtually unchanged, up less than 1 percent to $197,266. For their part, homebuilders started exactly as many houses through February as they did the first two months of last year: 652, according to The Builder Report by Norman-based Dharma Inc., in Oklahoma City, unincorporated Oklahoma County, Bethany, Blanchard, Choctaw, Edmond, Midwest City, Moore, Mustang, Newcastle, Noble, Norman, Shawnee and Yukon. Sales of existing homes were down 5.2 percent in January and 1.3 percent in February, the Realtors reported. Closed sales numbered 1,292 in January and 1,560 in February, the Realtors said. “January and February are our two slowest closing months of the year,” said Broker Brian Preston of RE/MAX at Home in Edmond. But he said the winter market' s dreary days are numbered. In Edmond, “In January we had 211 closed deals compared to 203 last year and ranging for the last six years from 203 to 242 closings in January. So January was slightly better than last year but behind previous years,” Preston said. “February had 295 closings this year, way ahead of the previous six years, which closed between 220 and 276 transactions. “Two other signs for a good start is the average price for both months was over $300,000 (and) already having 10 transactions over $1 million closed in the first two months.And in the active market, there are 1,260 active listings compared to 1,500-1,600 active listings we have had on the market this time of year for the last three years. “Active inventory is back down to 2014-15 numbers.”