Last month my Market Analysis of Homes Sales covered Venice and Nokomis for the 3-month quarter, July – September 2018. I cautioned that although home sales remained resilient, with solid, albeit modest appreciation, inventory levels were beginning to rise, which may limit continued price appreciation. A good indicator of how the market is trending is reviewing active for sale “List Prices”, “Days on the Market”, and the spread between “Sold Price” and “Original List Price”, and “Months of Inventory”. Certainly, all the recent news regarding “Red Tide” has not been helpful, although its impact will be short-lived. So, let’s see what the most recent 3-month quarter, August – October 2018 has wrought.

Average List Price.
Current vs. Same Quarter 1 Year Ago: $414,000. Down 9.8% from the same 3-months last year.
Current vs. Same Month 1 Year Ago: $424,000. Down 4.7% from the same month last year.
Average Sold Price.
Current vs. Same Quarter 1 Year Ago: $395,000. Up 2% from the same 3-months last year.
Current vs. Same Month 1 Year Ago: $296,000. 0% (no change) from the same month last year.
Days on the Market.
Current vs. Same Quarter 1 Year Ago: 70. Down 1.4% from the same 3-months last year.
Current vs. Same Month 1 Year Ago: 60. Down 21.1% from the same month last year.
Sold Price vs Original List Price:
Current vs. Same Quarter 1 Year Ago: 94%. 0% (no change) from the same quarter last year.
Current vs. Same Month 1 Year Ago: 94%. Down 1.1% from the same month last year.
Months of Inventory Based on Closed Sales:
Current vs. Same Quarter 1 Year Ago: 4.4. Up 18.8% from the same 3 months last year.
Current vs. Same Month 1 Year Ago: 4.5. Up 12.4%.

Over the past few months the market had been showing some signs of softening, shifting from a Seller’s to a Buyer’s Market. This snapshot in time implies that Sellers have taken notice. Those Sellers who are realistic in their asking List Price are selling their homes, and the Sold Prices are not depreciating. Priced too high, the home is “For Show”, not “For Sale”. Priced to FMV, homes are selling within 2 ½ months, and at a similar price to last year.