4th quarter '09 Ogden Valley residential sales reached the highest levels since 2006, with 39 closed transactions in contrast to 9 sales in the last quarter of '08, while Ogden total sales numbers remained steady over the last three quarters of 2009. Both areas have had a decline in sales/properties going under contract since the end of November, despite low interest rates and the buyer's tax credit.
The federal tax credit program, along with declining prices, likely contributed to Ogden Valley's uptick in sales. The program has been extended and expanded to include current homeowners, in addition to first-time buyers, who put a property under contract by the end of April and complete the purchase by the beginning of July 2010. For more details on the federal tax credit program, click here.
Ogden Valley 2009 year-end numbers followed a trend earlier in the year, with a 36% decrease in average single family residential sales price from 2008, and a 25% decrease in average condo sales price from the previous year. Sales activity continued to be concentrated at the lower end of the price range, with the last quarter's median and average sales prices being in the $280,000 range.
Half of all 4th quarter transactions were bank-owned or short sales properties--the majority having been foreclosures. Numbers of bank-owned and short sales properties on the market has remained stable at about 15%. The highest priced Ogden Valley sale in the 4th quarter 2009 was a bank-owned luxury property at Edgewater Chalets, selling for $538,000. The condo/townhome market sector has seen notable price adjustments, such as the Cascades 5 bedroom townhome short sale priced at $344,000--just over $100/sqft and well below any of the comps sold in the past year.
The decrease in Ogden Valley vacant land prices is notable, from lots in Sheep Creek/The Preserve at a low of $59,900 to those at the lower end of the price range in The Highlands and Edgewater Chalets developments--priced under $150,000.
The 2009 Ogden average single family home sales price declined by 4%--the first annual decline in more than 5 years--to an average sales price just under $180,000. After annual gains in average condo sales prices since 2006, the 2009 average condo sales price declined by just under 8% to about $120,000. Short sale/bank-owned listings continue to account for about 14% of current active listings in Ogden.
The Wasatch Front Regional Multiple Listing System/UtahRealEstate.com is undergoing a major upgrade, scheduled to be online by early March, and should be a significant improvement over the current MLS--with increased functionality allowing for more refined searches, including pinpoint mapping of geographic areas for current listings.
Those clients to whom I've e-mailed listing information in the past, including clients currently receiving Hotsheets, will need to respond to a connection invitation in the next few days to continue to receive e-mails with listing information. If you're not currently taking advantage of the fact that I can set up a Hotsheet e-mail report for properties meeting specific criteria to be sent automatically to you from our MLS any time there are any new or updated listings, let me know and I'd be happy to arrange it for you.
