I hate to sound like a broken record, but at least it’s a good song!
Sales were actually down over the holidays, which is always expected. They didn’t drop much, though, which is a sign of how well the housing market is actually doing. Home prices are rising and inventory is still low. My main piece of advice today is to get your house listed before everyone else does in the spring. You’ll have the advantage right now of little to no competition, if you’re looking to sell before summer. As always, let me know if I can answer any questions!

Clay/Ray Counties
Clay/Ray County sales were down for the month by 0.5% from 2012. Units were at 198 versus 199 last year. Year to date, unit sales are up 6.6%, with 4,139 units this year versus 3,884 last year. The average sales price for the month was up 4.2% from last year, with an average price of $156,742. Year to date, the average price is up 8.8%. The average price is $159,178, versus $146,322 last year. New listings were down 14 units to 279 or 4.8% from last year’s 293 units. Inventory is down 2.3% from last year and is running at 1,675 units. Inventory is down 127 units from last month.

Platte County
Platte County sales were down for the month by 42.3% from 2012. Units were at 60 versus 104 last year. Year to date, unit sales are up 1.9%, with 1,750 units this year versus 1,718 last year. The average sales price for the month was up 13.6% from last year, with an average price of $227,682. Year to date, the average price is up 6.9% from last year. The average price is $205,030 versus $191,889 last year. New listings in Platte County were down 17 units to 112 or 13.2% from the 129 units last year. Inventory decreased 3.3% from last year and is running at 738 units. Inventory is down 60 units from last month.

Heartland
Sales for the entire Heartland area were at 1,364, down for the month by 16.3%, or 266 units. The average price was up 7.4%, and averaging $190,179. Year to date, sales were up 6.4% or 1,864 units for a total of 31,204 for 2013. The average price for the year is running at $183,435, up 9.1% from 2012’s average of $168,208.

*Data obtained from Heartland MLS