I’ve been talking to everyone about the interesting trend that has developed recently in our market area.

The average sales price right now is sitting at about $180,000 according to Heartland MLS stats, but this information is very misleading. We’ve arrived at this average sales price by doing just that—-taking the average of the sales. This is very misleading, though. If you were a homeseller in the $180,000 price range, you might look at this and think ‘it’s a great time for me to sell because that’s the price of home that’s selling’. But I’m here to give you the ‘REAL’ story.

We’re seeing many, many investors in the market right now. These investors are buying all the $0-30,000 properties they can get their hands on. What they are planning on doing is fixing up these properties and not selling, but renting them out. This is a fantastic time for those investors to get some great deals on homes. And, to sweeten the deal, most of these investment properties can be found in good shape and in areas that are available to renters where the government offers a rent subsidy. Of course, you’re reading this paragraph thinking—-so why isn’t the average sales price $15,000?

Glad you asked…because that’s only half the story.

We’re also seeing a lot of buyers in the upper bracket price ranges around $300,000-$500,000. Now it’s obvious why the numbers seem so skewed, right? The people buying homes are smart, informed and savvy investors and they’re using their knowledge to help them either invest in real estate or purchase a larger home for themselves.

Now, I’m not saying that it’s not a good time of year to put a $180,000 home on the market. It’s definitely a good idea to try and beat the spring traffic…no matter what price range your home falls in. Spring traffic brings more competition resulting in lower prices and longer days on market. All in all, more frustration for the seller. If you’re wanting to sell around springtime, I’d suggest listing the home in January or February to beat the traffic.