Coldwell Banker Hickok & Boardman Realty released the Year-End real estate market report for Chittenden, Franklin, Grand Isle, and Addison counties reflecting home sales and trends for 2011. The report analyzes the data for each county, town, and within Chittenden County provides a unique analysis by school district.
The Coldwell Banker Hickok & Boardman Realty Market Report reveals sales volume across Chittenden, Franklin, Grand Isle and Addison counties rose 7% over last year, while the median sale price for residential properties’ single-family homes, condominiums and mobile homes ‘gained about 1%. The region last year demonstrated a healthy, robust sell-to-list price ratio of 96%, while pending sales remained consistent, signaling a steady stream of transactions.
‘Our goal in creating this report is to help inform and educate buyers and sellers,’ remarks Leslee MacKenzie, President/Owner of Coldwell Banker Hickok & Boardman Realty, ‘This report delves into the specific data about the region’s towns, counties and school districts to provide relevant comparisons of data and trends. Northwest Vermont is known for its vibrancy and diversity, and that extends to its local towns, with each demonstrating their own traits and strengths.’
Coldwell Banker Hickok & Boardman Realty is a locally owned company affiliated with one of the most nationally recognized names in real estate, Coldwell Banker. The agency has set the bar for marketing and selling Vermont properties, as illustrated by its consistent ranking as the #1 Coldwell Banker Office in Vermont and as one of the top Coldwell Banker companies nationwide.
Year-End 2011 Market Highlights
Across Chittenden, Franklin, Grand Isle and Addison counties, sales volume rose 7% between from January 2011 through year-end, while the median sale price rose slightly to $228,000. Given the still-recovering national real estate market and tough comparisons against 2010, when the firsttime
homebuyers tax credit helped buoy demand, Northwest Vermont demonstrated remarkable stability in 2011.
Chittenden County
Chittenden County, the region’s real estate giant with $375 million in 2011 property sales, boosted its number of sold listings by 3% last year, while the median sale price remained unchanged at $247,000. Properties needed an additional eight days on the market as compared with 2010. The Chittenden South school district ‘ the towns of Shelburne, Charlotte, Williston, St. George and Hinesburg ‘
recorded the highest median sale price of $325,000 among Chittenden county’s eight school districts.
Franklin County
While the volume of sold properties in Franklin County jumped by 8% in 2011, the county’s residential median sale price’including single-family homes, condominiums and mobile homes ‘was little changed at $185,950. The median sale price for condominiums alone, however, jumped 9%, although those gains were offset by a less than 1% increase in the median sale price for single-family homes.
Grand Isle
The smallest of Northwest Vermont’s counties, Grand Isle witnessed a boost in residential sales in 2011 ‘ with 80 transactions, up from 71 in the previous year ‘ although the median sale price slipped 3.3% to $193,450. With a property market focused on single-family homes, the decline was largely driven by a slightly lower median sale price for standalone residences.
Addison County
Located to the south of the Northwest Vermont region, Addison County boosted sold listings by 42% to $68 million, placing it only second to Chittenden County in terms of sales volume. The median sale price for all residential properties jumped 9% to $225,000, while homeowners needed 11 fewer days to market their properties, with the average residence selling in 179 days, down from 190 in 2010.
Sales of multi-family homes jumped 13%, with 87 transactions across the four counties. Many investors have historically found Northwest Vermont’s multi-family market to offer attractive assets, given the region’s low unemployment rate, a solid professional base and a growing student population.
Nevertheless, there are signs that multi-family sales might slow, as new listings and pending listings are down 11% and 16%, respectively. Some investors are opting to hold onto their properties, given the lack of attractive alternative investments.
The complete report is currently available athttp://www.vermontmarketreport.com
Print copies of the full report as well as each town edition, are available for download onwww.VermontMarketReport.com or by request.