The August sales numbers for the Wichita metro area have been released and they show a slight increase of 2.7% in sales from July to August. This is good news however the numbers for July were down about 33% from the spring rush. This spring the buyer tax credit was in effect until April 30th so that helped inflate the numbers for sales during that time. The drop off was dramatic and it could take a few months to really be able to gauge where the market will settle down and reflect a true market condition. New home sales did not fair as well as resale homes and new home sales actually drooped 2.4% in August. Inventory for resale homes was up 25% over this time last year and inventory for new homes is 18% lower this year then last year.
What does all this mean? In a nut shell it means now is a GREAT time to buy a home and a not so great time to sell a home. It means that the market is a strong Buyers market and there is lots of inventory to pick from. There is about an 8 month supply of homes (resale) on the market and about a 12 month supply of new homes on the market. A 4 -5 month supply is considered a balanced market so you can see that buyers are in a great position right now.
Does that mean that as a buyer you can low ball any home and get a steal of a deal? NO, NO, NO. That would assume that all sellers are in a situation that they must sell or loose their home or that all sellers are desperate. There are a few situations where that might be true but for the most part many sellers are not in a position where they must sell or else. They are looking for a fair price and many will offer incentives that will enhance the sell for their buyer. As a buyer look for concessions such as seller paid closing costs for the buyer, flexible closing dates, or maybe some personal property might be included ( a pool table might be left or a hot tub, etc) As they say Every Thing is negotiable in real estate.
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