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July 2019 Newsletter – Market Update

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June polished off the first half of 2019 in fine style.  Sales remained strong, volume was good, and the outlook for the remainder of the year is positive.

The major indicators for the health of the real estate industry for any area are:  Sales Volume, Number of Sales, and Median Price.  The Door County MLS capsules these indicators for the several different markets in Door and Kewaunee Counties.  In this report all numbers reflect the cumulative activity for both counties and compare them for the month of June in 2018 and 2019.

June 2018 showed 103 sales for a total volume of $25.0 million.  Here in 2019, the number of sales increased to 116 and volume was up at $26.3 million.  That’s a 13% increase in sales and a 5% jump in volume.

Median price for the first 6 months of 2019 took a moderate decline of 6%, moving from a 6 year high of $158,750 in 2018 to $149,100.  This minor change can be attributed to especially strong sales activity with high end home sales in Northern Door County last year.

Next month we will take a closer look at the different markets for the full first 6 months of 2018 vs. 2019.

Overall activity for low to moderately priced homes in all the Door and Kewaunee markets remains very strong with many homes receiving strong interest and often multiple offers soon after being exposed in MLS and other social media sites.

When inquiries on homes for sale are received by many Realtors, an all too often typical response will be “sorry, that home is under contract”!

ERA Starr Realty has their hand on the pulse of the real estate markets in Door and Kewaunee Counties.  Daily we tabulate what’s new on the market and what has just been sold.  We dissect sale prices, locations, square footage, etc. to better serve our customers and clients.  We are “ALWAYS THERE FOR YOU!”

June 2019 Newsletter – Year-to-Date Update

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The Door and Kewaunee real estate markets continue to be strong through the first 5 months of the year.  However, there are some subtle changes that indicate the markets are at least leveling off.  Leveling off can be a positive, and a stable market at the current level would be welcomed by most real estate companies.

Activity for May 2019 included 81 sales for a gross volume of $11.6 million. This compares to 86 sales in 2018 with volume of $15.8 million and 85 sales in 2017 with volume of $17.0 million.

All this resulted in a year-to-date (January thru May) moderate decline in median price:

2019 median price…$147,725;  2018 median price…$155,000;  2017 median price…$149,500

Much of this change can be attributed to an exceptionally strong housing market for low and modest priced homes in the Sturgeon Bay area where prices are typically lower than northern areas of Door County.

For example, in 2018 the median price of residential inland homes for all areas in Door and Kewaunee Counties was $181,000.  For Sturgeon Bay median price in 2018 was $139,500.  That’s a 30% difference!  And that does not even take into account Kewaunee County where the median price for homes sold in 2018 was $124,350.  Coincidentally, that is the highest median price for Kewaunee in the last 7 years (and probably the highest ever).

The biggest problem facing the housing market today is available inventory.  Demand far exceeds supply for lower priced homes and it appears it will stay that way for the immediate future.  This is all the more reason buyers and sellers need our help with their real estate needs.  ERA Starr Realty has been helping to satisfy those needs since 1954.  With our 3 brokers having over 100 years of combined experience, coupled with a sales staff of 22 highly qualified agents, we are:  “ALWAYS THERE FOR YOU!”

March 2019 Newsletter – Market Update

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February, predictable, continues what is always a slow start to the real estate activity in the Door-Kewaunee markets.  There is little information to help forecast just where sales and prices are heading as we get into the stronger listing and selling months beginning in March.

However, we do see that January and February’s cumulative sales generally mirror where sales have been over the last several years.  According to the Door County Multiple Listing Service (MLS), there were 48 sales in February for $9.2 million in volume.  This is slightly above last year’s activity.

Year to date median price checked in at $149,200 compared to $181,000 last year.  This large discrepancy is the result of a few very large sales last year during the months of January and February.  The two years prior to 2018 showed median prices of $154,500 and $144,500 with the $154,500 being the highest in the last 6 years, excepting 2018.

Residential shore home sales for 2018 continued what is now 4 consecutive years with over 100 properties sold.  Here are the vitals:

 

  Year       No. of Homes Sold      Median Price  
    2015

106

$330,000

2016

112

$394,950

2017

111

$384,000

2018

104

$393,500

In breaking down the median prices depicted above, we find a great difference in values and sales activity for properties located in different areas.  For example:

  1. Shore homes sold north of Sturgeon Bay had a median price of $600,000 for 59 sales.

 

  1. Sturgeon Bay and Southern Door County median price dropped to $285,000, while Kewaunee County had just 3 sales with a median price of $335,000.

Information like this is valuable for customers and clients looking to purchase or market a shore property.  Here at ERA Starr Realty, we realize that in order to maximize our service to buyers and sellers, we must do a very careful market analysis in order to best analyze the true value of any property.  Please give one of our qualified sales associates a call.  We are “ALWAYS THERE FOR YOU”!

 P.S.  My next newsletter will cover market activity for March and April.

February 2019 Newsletter

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January 2019 got off to a good start for the Door-Kewaunee County real estate markets.  The number of sales pretty much matched the start of last year’s banner year.  According to the Door County Multiple Listing Service (MLS), there were 61 sales for $13 million in volume compared to 60 sales for $13.3 million in 2017.  Median price was almost identical at $150,000.

As always, inland residential properties represented the largest share of overall 2018 sales with 442 total sales.  That’s 41% of the total number of 1,068 sales.  Overall median price was up 4%, increasing from $173,900 to $181,000 for all types of properties in all areas.

Median price for inland residential properties showed solid increases for the three main market areas of our MLS:

  1.  Northern Door (Sevastopol and North) jumped from $250,000 to $259,250 for an increase of 4%.
  2. City of Sturgeon Bay moved from $130,900 to $139,500, up 7%.
  3. Kewaunee County median price increased from $103,450 to $125,350, up 21%.

The second largest segment of the overall market was vacant land.  Here we find 187 sales and a median price of $40,000.  In 2017 there were 183 sales and a median price of $41,000.

We must keep in mind that every parcel of property is unique and it is important not to generalize too much.  It requires a professional to do a proper analysis of a property using the MLS data and then making the proper adjustments to best reflect that property’s value.

Here at ERA Starr Realty we are licensed and trained to evaluate properties and render to our customers and clients the information that satisfies their real estate needs.  We are  “ALWAYS THERE FOR YOU”!

January 2019 Newsletter – Year End Review

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December activity in the Door-Kewaunee real estate market was down a bit with the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) showing just 62 total sales for the month, down from 91 sales in 2017.  Volume also dropped from $24.5 million in 2017 to $17.2 million in 2018; however, with fewer sales median price jumped considerably from $196,000 to $230,500.

Year end numbers compared very favorably with the previous 4 years.  Below are the year end statistics for the last four years:

 

All MLS Sold Properties 2015 2016 2017 2018
Number of Sales 955 1,008 1,071 1,065
Volume in Millions $198.5 $194.4 $233.0 $245.2
Median Price $146,000 $145,000 $159,900 $165,000

 

Certainly the number that stands out the most is the 2018 median price of $165,000.  The increase from the low of $145,000 in 2017 amounts to a 14% increase.  This increase coupled with the strong number of sales indicates a very healthy real estate market for the Door-Kewaunee area.

Over the next few months I will focus on individual markets in the two county area.  The differences within this macro market are significant.  Kewaunee County compared to Northern Door County is like night and day.  Million dollar sales in Northern Door were fairly common while prices in Southern Door and Kewaunee County were significantly lower.  More on this topic in upcoming newsletters.

ERA Starr Realty is proud to have played a rather substantial part in the healthy market we have enjoyed.  We again listed and sold more real estate properties than any other agency in the MLS system in 2018.  With 395 sales and listings sold, we exceeded the second most active agency which totaled 286 transactions.  This continues the decades old pattern of sales for ERA Starr Realty.  Any questions?  Call one of our agents…we are “Always There For You!”

December 2018 Newsletter

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With 2019 right on the horizon and 2018 into its last month, we can reflect on the last several years and hopefully have a reasonable, positive projection for the real estate market in 2019.

Certainly with all the distractions nationally, there is limited assurances as to just what the future may hold for any market, but real estate looks like it will continue to provide very solid results regarding market activity and price integrity.

November activity in the Door-Kewaunee market was solid with a total of 82 transactions garnering $19.2 million in sales volume.  That compares to a slight decrease in number of sales, but a nice increase in volume:  86 sales in 2017 and $16.6 million in volume.

2018 year-to-date statistics are impressive when compared to 2017 which was by all accounts also an excellent year for real estate.  Number of sales increased from 980 to 999 for a 2% increase while median price rose from $155,475 to $163,000.  That’s a nice 5% jump.

Next month when we have the final year end numbers, we can look at the last 4 years of activity in the Northeast Wisconsin real estate market.  2015 marked the first real solid year since things imploded in 2008.  In 2015 we moved from 782 sales the previous year to 953 sales for a rather dramatic 22% positive increase.  Each year since the number of sales has increased steadily, topping 1,070 sales in 2017.

ERA Starr Realty has been right in the middle of all this activity.  We have listed and sold the greatest number of properties in the MLS every year for the last decade and longer. We have been a “trusted name in real estate since 1954”.  Need answers?  Give one of our agents a call, we are “Always There For You”!

THE BEST OF THE HOLIDAY SEASON TO ALL!

November 2018 Newsletter

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As we move through the last quarter of 2018 and continue what has been a very solid year for real estate in the Door-Kewaunee markets, I spent some time and compared today’s market to the “glory days” in the mid 2000’s.

2004, 2005, and 2006 were the years with the most activity since 2000.  These 3 years reflected the greatest number of sales and the strongest median prices.  Here are their vitals:

 

2004 2005 2006
No. of Sales 1126 1181 1047
Median Price $140,000 $145,000 $152,000
Days on Market 295 297 314

With 2018 sure to check in with more than 1,000 sales, and 2016 and 2017 also boasting sales in excess of 1,000, here are the last two year’s annual numbers:

 

2016 2017
No. of Sales 1008 1071
Median Price $145,000 $159,900
Days on Market 380 312

This year through November 14th, the MLS has recorded 949 sales with a median price of $162,400.  It is likely the final numbers for 2018 will generate the highest median price in the last 2 decades.  I believe we can officially declare the “bust” market over. At its lowest point in 2009, the number of sales dipped to 596 and median price bottomed out at $130,000.

I feel this healthy real estate market will continue in the foreseeable future.  Here at ERA Starr Realty, we will watch closely for any “blips” that may appear and influence the market one way or another.  We believe this is an obligation we owe to all our customers and clients.  After all, we are:  “We Are Always There For You!”

Until next time,

Dennis Starr, Realtor Emeritus

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