Happy Valley Real Estate Report
As we head into the second quarter of 2010, Happy Valley’s real estate market remains a challenging environment for developers and sellers. Fewer homes are selling in Happy Valley than a year ago and home prices are down 10% year over year. At the same time the gap between list and sold price is widening.
Happy Valley Sales Volume Is Down 50%
A year ago the dollar value of homes that sold in Happy Valley per month stood at roughly $14M. It’s now down to just over $6M. Sales picked up in the summer months, reaching as much as $17.5M in June of 2009, but have followed a downward trend ever since. Going forward the market is likely to correct the current trajectory as home buying activity is typically notably stronger in the second quarter than at the outset of the year. However, it remains unlikely that home sales in Happy Valley in Q2/10 will reach last year’s level.
Living large continues to define home-ownership in Happy Valley, where one in every five homes bought over the last six months was a 5-bedroom home. Less than 4% of all homes sold are 2-bedroom units. Overall four bedroom homes remain the most popular product in Happy Valley, accounting for roughly 40% of all transactions over the last six months.
Happy Valley Home Prices Are Down 10%
Over the past 12 months prices of homes that sold in Happy Valley have been on average 10% below prices for the same month of the previous year. Price percentage changes have varied substantially, showing a maximum of almost negative 20% for July 2009 over July 2008, and suggesting appreciation of roughly 8% for Feb 2010 over the same month a year ago. On average, however, the trend remains negative by about 10%.
From Apr ’09 through Oct ’09 the maximum home price (sold) in Happy Valley was consistently above 600k, reaching as much as $1.5M for a 5-bed/6-bath luxury Street of Dreams home on Mt. Scott which sold for 350k below list price. Since then not a single home has sold for more than 600k.
Gap Between List And Sold Price Widens
The average price for homes listed in Happy Valley over the past 12 months has been around 425k, however, most homes sold for 360k or less (the median sales price for Happy Valley during this period was 356k, the average sold price was 369k). As the chart below shows, the gap between list price and sold price has widened somewhat since the summer months.
For several buyers these trends have created very favorable conditions. Investors and banks with Bella Casa inventory – Happy Valley’s subdivision with the highest REO-density – have been particularly eager to sell in recent months, offering substantial concessions to qualified buyers:
- A bank-owned 5-bed/4-bath luxury Bella Casa home that was listed for 575k, sold for 525k. This 4,000 SQFT home is equipped with jetted tubs, fireplace in the master and a wine cellar.
- A couple of weeks later the house next door sold for roughly 60k less than asking at 500k.
- Just down the road a 4-bed/3-bath luxury home sold for 47k less than asking price. This home had been on the market for over a year, and was originally listed at 689k before dropping to 569k
Elsewhere in Happy Valley, first time home-buyers have also managed to secure substantial discounts, notably at Jackson Hills and Lincoln Heights.
