December 2012 Real Estate Market Watch

2012 is now in the books, and home sales in Sussex County continue to rise. Compared to the same timeframe last year, home sales are up by 29% county-wide.  As of the end of December, there have been 2,229 single-family homes sold, compared to 1,723 sold last year.  All areas of the county have shown an increase in sales.  The average price and median price are still down, but by a much smaller margin.  Based on homes sold, the average price for a single-family home in Sussex County is $328,406, a 6% decrease as compared to last year's $349,880.  The median price is $245,000, a less than 1% decrease as compared to last year's $246,900.  The current inventory of single-family homes at the end of December was 2,218, an 8% decrease from the active inventory at the end of November.

The good news is that the decreased inventory of available homes should eventually lead to sales prices increasing.   This has been the trend over the last several months:

Average Sales Price of Single-Family Homes YTD
December 2012 - $328,406
November 2012 - $323,050
October 2012 - $320,912
September 2012 - $314,818
August 2012 - $311,081
July 2012 - $306,724
June 2012 - $303,562

For detailed statistics on specific areas of Sussex County, please CLICK HERE to read our Market Watch newsletter.  All statistics were compiled from the Sussex County Association of REALTORS' Multiple Listing Service.