Condos are Harder to Sell than Single Family Homes in a Down Market

by Karen Goodman on May 28, 2008

A couple of days ago I posted numbers that showed the market trends over the last 5 years for single family homes in St. Louis County and St. Charles County. Not surprisingly, sales are down and average days on market are up.

But, the condo market has been even harder hit than single family homes.

Here is a comparison of condos sales for 2003 through 2008. (Sales for 2008 are from January 1 – May 24).

(NOTE: Condos sales include garden style and townhome condos, villas, plus a small number of coop properties.)

Year	Number Sold	Avg. Days on Market	Sold in 0-30 Days	Avg. Sale $
St. Louis County
2008	425	118	16.47%	170.9
2007	1619	91	24.21%	178.3
2006	1868	72	30.30%	171.0
2005	2038	54	41.95%	167.0
2004	1987	53	45.75%	154.6
2003	1929	47	51.60%	146.1
St. Charles County
2008	146	114	20.55%	138.8
2007	672	75	31.70%	142.9
2006	732	57	42.20%	144.5
2005	723	51	43.98%	137.4
2004	600	43	52.67%	123.7
2003	546	45	52.93%	109.7

Note the trends:

Unit sales are way down since the peak years
Average days on market have shot up. With the average time to sell at about 4 months, condos take on average a month longer to sell than single family homes!
% of properties that sell in 0-30 days has been declining each year, and is currently much lower than the %’s for single family homes
Average sale price for 2008 is down to 2005/2006 prices

Sellers of condos need to understand that the market is worse for condos than it is for single family homes. They need to price their properties aggressively in order to get them to sell. And, if you purchased a condo in the peak years of 2004-2006, you are probably going to sell for less than your purchase price. If you can’t handle the loss, and don’t have to move, then you should consider staying put for a few more years until the market bounces back.

Remember, buyers don’t care what you paid for your property or how much you need to make on it. All they care about is getting the best property available with the best features at the lowest price.

I received an offer on one of my condo listings tonight. My client and I had a candid discussion about what needed to be done BEFORE we had the first buyer cross the threshold. She made some updates to both bathrooms, replaced all the carpeting, and re-stained a built-in bookcase. AND, she came on the market below her original purchase price. Is she happy about losing money on the deal…of course not!

BUT, she is realistic about the market and knows that she has a choice of pricing it to sell, or continuing to own it for months to come even though she has already moved out of town. Taking a small loss and moving on quickly is sometimes the best move you can make if you must sell.

When our counteroffer is accepted tomorrow, we’ll go to pending status in only 27 days. And we’ll be one of the few condos that will sell in that 0-30 days category.

Tomorrow: more numbers looking at the same trends for St. Louis City.