Homes for sale in Door County, Real estate, waterfront property for sale in Sturgeon Bay, Southern Door, Fish Creek, Sister Bay, Algoma, Kewaunee

December 2020 Newsletter

December 16, 2020 by Kathy M

November is typically the month when things begin to slow down for real estate activity in the Door-Kewaunee real estate markets. Guess what? November 2020 turned out to NOT be a typical month, much like so many other things going on in this country this year.

The Multiple Listing Service (MLS) showed 135 sales for November. The previous three years recorded 86, 85 and 87 sales in what were very good months in very good years. This 57% increase in sales over those years has to be attributed to something out of the ordinary.

First we have to look at interest rates – never lower in my 51 years in the business! Second, we have to consider the virus and many buyers having the flexibility to work from home. Coupled with the appeal of Door and Kewaunee Counties to city dwellers who feel cooped up in their urban homes and apartments, we see a developing rush from the big city to attractive, low-density locations for primary and secondary homes.

Certainly other factors are involved such as an economy that has remained strong for many high earning and wealthy families. With a strong stock market, there seems to be little problem for buyers to qualify for low-rate mortgages. Cash buyers are also very evident in this market.

This strong activity has pushed the median sales price of our two-county market to $180,000 through the first 11 months of 2020. Last year that number was $160,000, or 13% lower. These numbers apply to all type of real estate properties including commercial, vacant land, condominiums as well as residential homes, with residential providing the bulk of the increased values.

Here at ERA Starr Realty we strive to keep our customers and clients up to date on the markets in Door and Kewaunee Counties. We are Always There for You!

We wish you a very Happy Holiday Season and look forward to serving your real estate needs in 2021!

November 2020 Real Estate Newsletter

November 16, 2020 by Kathy M

The fourth quarter of 2020 is off to a rousing start! With 158 sales for a total volume of $51 million and a median price of $229,000, October may well have been the best single month in recent Multiple Listing Service (MLS) history. Certainly it was since the market collapsed in 2008.

By comparison, October 2019 showed 101 sales for volume of $24.2 million and a median price of $167,500. That’s a 56% increase in number of sales, a 111% jump in volume and a leap in median price of 37%. Needless to say, those numbers cannot sustain for a whole year. However, it does reflect on just how hot the Door-Kewaunee markets are.

As stated in last month’s newsletter, Northern Door County is responsible for much of the real estate activity, while the Sturgeon Bay area market is somewhat less active. Kewaunee County also has shown solid gains.

In this climate, we see the typical market forces at work. Demand far exceeds supply, increasing selling prices. Interest rates are at historic lows, pushing buyers into the market. And then there is the pandemic. After the initial onset back in January-February, we had a very soft market which resulted in pent up demand. On top of that, we found many city dwellers looking for second homes as a place to “hole up”. In addition, many families found that they could work virtually from a new home located in a very desirable, less dense environment. Door and Kewaunee Counties filled the bill for many home seekers.

Things can change rapidly in the real estate world. Here at ERA Starr Realty, we follow these changes very closely in order to keep our customers and clients up to speed on the latest developments. We are “Always There For You!”

Wishing you a Happy, Healthy Thanksgiving from all of us here at ERA Starr Realty!

October 2020 Newsletter

October 20, 2020 by Kathy M

September finishes off the third quarter of perhaps the most unusual year in real estate in my 51 years of experience. Certainly, the pandemic is the primary factor in defining this market, but many other significant situations exist that have driven the current market.

We are currently dealing with the strongest housing market in recent memory. Interest rates are at historic lows. Demand is so strong that homes selling for over listed price have become more the norm than the exception.

All this leads to a housing market where demand far exceeds supply which eventually leads to higher housing prices. This is evidenced by the following summary of housing activity in Door and Kewaunee Counties (statistics apply only to inland residential home sales):

Area	2019 Median Price	2020 Median Price	Change
Northern Door	$265,000	$356,250	+34%
Southern Door	$169,000	$189,000	+12%
Kewaunee Co.	$117,750	$140,000	+19%
Combined Areas	$180,000	$219,000	+22%

As to the number of sales for each area, we see that Northern Door jumped from 85 sales to 100; Southern Door moved down from 142 sales in 2019 to 125 this year; Kewaunee County stayed almost the same at 46 and 47 sales.

Southern Door, which includes Sevastopol south to the county line, showed fewer sales only because of a rather drastic shortage of available homes for sale. Northern Door was blessed with a strong supply of available inventory. Here at ERA Starr Realty, we are onboard with all the information needed to help our customers and clients solve their real estate needs. We are “Always There For You.”

July 2020 Newsletter

July 16, 2020 by Kathy M

June polished off the first 6 months of 2020 in what can be described as a tale of two quarters. The first quarter reflected a pretty normal start to the year, while the second quarter took in not only the effects of the coronavirus, but also historically low interest rates plus a very strong seller’s market due to limited homes available for sale.

A strong May resulted from the closings of transactions which were written up prior to the full effects of the virus being felt. Low interest rates and limited inventory created an unusually strong seller’s market.

June’s rather dramatic decline in sales activity compared to previous years can be attributed almost entirely to the virus. Here are the numbers: June 2020 showed 71 sales in the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) compared to 119 in 2019…a drop of 40%. Volume declined 42%, moving from $27.2 million last June to just $15.9 million here in 2020.

Despite what checked in as the slowest June since 2013, the year-to-date median price for the first six months of 2020 was the highest in 7 years at $160,000. Last year’s January – June median price was $148,750. That’s a solid increase of 8%.

Median price for shore and inland home properties was generally higher with the exception of a slight decrease in Kewaunee County residential homes. Vacant land, residential and hotel condominiums all showed moderate increases in median price.

Needless to say, the real estate markets in Door and Kewaunee Counties are a bit unpredictable with all that is going on. Thus far most prognosticators feel the housing market will be strong for the foreseeable future. They also pretty much agree that commercial properties will struggle. Uncertainty is the culprit here.

We here at ERA Starr Realty will continue to carefully follow all aspects of the real estate markets in both Door and Kewaunee Counties. It is our goal to provide the very best service to all our customers and clients. We are “Always There For You!”

March 2019 Newsletter – Market Update

March 12, 2019 by Kathy M

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:

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

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.

January 2017 Newsletter

January 19, 2017 by admin

December 2016 finished with a bang! Solid increases in both the number of sales and total volume made for a solid finishing touch for the year. End of year totals also were solid and gave us two consecutive years of excellent activity here in the Door-Kewaunee County real estate markets.

For the month of December there were 96 sales for $21.3 million. That compares to last year’s total of 82 sales for $17.7 million in volume. That’s a nice increase of 17% in sales and 20% in dollar volume, leading to a substantial median price boost from $138,750 in 2015 to $156,700 in 2016.

Now for the important final stats for the year 2016:

	2015	2016	CHANGE
Number of Sales	955	1005	+5.2%
Volume (millions)	$198.5	$194.2	-2.2%
Median Price	$146,000	$145,000	-1.0%

If we look back to 2013 and 2014 we find median price for both years at $140,000, while the number of sales and volume averaged about 800 sales and $154 million in volume. Needless to say, the last two years are a vast improvement for the real estate industry here in Door and Kewaunee Counties.

Here at ERA Starr Realty we experienced a truly banner year with dramatic increases in both number of transactions and dollar volume:

Our leading transaction number increased from 332 in 2015 to 378 in 2016, an increase of 14%.
Our volume also jumped from $48.4 million to $58.5 million…..a 21% improvement.
The second leading office showed 189 transactions for $56.8 million in volume. Interestingly, their number of sales was exactly one half of our production.

These are great reasons to give ERA Starr Realty a call when seeking information about real estate conditions in the Door or Kewaunee County markets.

We are…“Always There For You!”

Area	2019 Median Price	2020 Median Price	Difference
Northern Door	$184,000	$227,450	+24%
Southern Door	$154,000	$166,250	+8%
Kewaunee Co.	$118,500	$148,500	+25%

January 2017 Newsletter

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