Coldwell Banker Hickok & Boardman Realty has released a real estate market report for Chittenden, Franklin, Grand Isle, and Addison counties reflecting home sales for the summer real estate season, May through August, as well as a year to date comparison. The report analyzes the data for each county, town, and within Chittenden County provides a unique analysis by school district.
"As a Realtor," said Tom Shampnois, "I often say real estate is a local business with trends varying by town and within each community. With that in mind, we have formatted this report and presented the data in a similar way that a home buyer may search for a home- by property type, location, or within a specific school district. In addition, the report summarizes trends in northwest Vermont's luxury market, as well as multi-family investment properties."
Overall the sales volume from May through August, demonstrates the stability of Northwest Vermont's property trends during the summer real estate season. Sales across Chittenden, Franklin, Grand Isle and Addison counties rose 6.4% throughout the summer real-estate season. For the year-to-date, however, sales rose just 3%, crimped by comparison against 2010 home sales boosted by the first-time homebuyer's tax credit.
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Market-Wide Trends
While many U.S. communities continue to struggle with weak pricing and demand, Northwest Vermont has recently proven to be a relatively stable region for many real estate buyers and sellers.
Helping maintain demand for properties across Chittenden, Franklin, Grand Isle and Addison counties are several key local and national drivers. Record low interest rates, while available across the country, have helped propel Vermont sales of single-family homes and condos. On a local level, Burlington and South Burlington were recently cited as boasting the second-lowest foreclosure rates across 206 metro areas, according to RealtyTrac.
Northwest Vermont has also been helped by demographic strength: Burlington ‘ Vermont’s biggest city and the central hub of Chittenden County ‘ has witnessed 9% population growth in the first decade of this century, according to the U.S. Census. That’s more than triple the 2.8% population growth reported for Vermont as a whole during the same period.
On the employment front, Vermont is also outshining the national average. The state’s unemployment rate hovered at 5.9% in August, below the U.S. average of 9.1%.
The result: Northwest Vermont and Addison County have continued to demonstrate overall steady real estate trends during the summer of 2011. The number of sold listings increased 6.4% during the summer-selling period of May through August, traditionally the busiest period for real-estate transactions. On a dollar basis, the volume of sold property rose 5.1% to $224.6 million during the period.
While the average selling price for property across the four counties declined 1.1% to $263,335, it represents a moderate dip when compared against the 5.1% August price decline reported across U.S. residential properties by the National Association of Realtors.
Across the region, Chittenden represented the biggest share of market, as shown in the chart below:
Yet while the number of sold properties improved, the region demonstrated slight weaknesses in average residential sale price, as noted above, and average days on the market.
Homeowners seeking a sale in the summer of 2011 required more time to market their properties, with the average property selling in 112 days, up from 104 days in summer 2010
The average selling price for residential property across Chittenden, Franklin and Grand Isle counties ‘ including single-family homes, condominiums and mobile homes ‘ declined 1.4% to $264,924.
As shown in the chart below, Chittenden County recorded the region’s highest average sale price during summer 2011 at $286,383.
*Average of Chittenden, Franklin and Grand Isle Counties
Single-family home sales represented three-quarters of all property sales, with an average price of $284,429 across Chittenden, Franklin and Grand Isle properties. That marks a decline of 1.6% from the year-earlier period.
Condominiums, representing 24% of Northwest Vermont’s summer transactions, posted an average sale price of $223,982, a decline of 1.8% from a year earlier. Mobile homes, less than 1% of the summer market, posted an average sales price of $71,822, marking a doubling of pricing although this represents a small number of transactions,
With demand for apartments from young professionals and students attending the region’s many colleges, investors responded, helping drive up sales of multi-family homes by 19%.
On a dollar basis, the volume of sold listings from May to August among multi-family properties jumped 39%, with the average sale price increasing by 16% to $275,106. Average days on the market also improved, with a typical multi-family home selling in
81 days, compared with 98 a year earlier.
Chittenden County
Chittenden County, home to Vermont’s largest city, Burlington, captured the lion’s share of Northwest Vermont’s real estate activity between May and August, traditionally the busiest months for property transactions.
With $165.2 million in residential sales, Chittenden County represented 84% of Northwest Vermont’s transactions. Click here for details on Addison County.
Sold listings rose 4.8% to 746, while the average residential sale price was little changed at $286,383. Average number of days on the market lengthened slightly, shifting up to 89 days from 83 a year earlier.
The volume of multi-family sales, on a dollar basis, rose 34% to $7.5 million, while the average sale price for such properties in Chittenden County jumped 17% to $314,017.
With 24 multi-family property sales from May through August, Chittenden County captured 77% of Northwest Vermont’s property sales in this category. Two-thirds of Chittenden County’s multi-family transactions were located in Burlington.
Single-family homes marked 72% of residential transactions, while condominium sales represented 27% of residential sales.
Mobile-home sales were less than 1% of transactions.
The average sale price for a home in Chittenden County averaged $321,360, a less than 1% increase from a year earlier. Condominium prices were also little changed, with the average condo sale closing at $226,120, down 1.5% from summer 2010. The average price of a mobile home more than tripled to $94,600, although the summer months included just five mobile-home sales.
Prices often vary dramatically from town to town within Chittenden County, underscoring the importance for buyers and sellers of understanding the trends driving specific markets.
Chittenden South, comprising Williston, Shelburne, Charlotte and Hinesburg, boasted Chittenden County’s highest average residential sale pricing. As noted in the luxury report, several transactions valued at more than $1 million were recorded in Chittenden South. Winooski had the lowest average residential sale price, as seen in the chart below.
* Reflects average residential sale price in the towns of:
Chittenden South = Charlotte, Shelburne, Williston, Hinesburg
Chittenden East = Bolton, Richmond, Jericho, Huntington, Underhill
Chittenden Central = Essex, Essex Junction, Westford
Franklin County
Located to the north of Chittenden County, Franklin County was the second most-active real estate market between May and August among Northwest Vermont’s three counties.
With $26.7 million in property transactions, Franklin County captured 13% of the region’s summer transactions. That volume represented a 6% increase from the year-earlier period, although the average selling price declined by 8.2% to $180,751.
Sold listings jumped 15% to 142 during from May through August, with both single-family homes and condominium sales showing increased transactions.
Single-family home sales represented 92% of the county’s residential transactions during the period, while condominium sales made up 7% of the summer’s transactions. Mobile home sales represented less than 1% of sold listings.
Yet while Franklin County ‘ home to historic Vermont towns such as St. Albans and Fairfax ‘ witnessed a boost in number of transactions, the average sale price of single-family homes slipped 9% from a year-earlier. Sellers also required more time to market their properties, with the average days on market stretching to 172 from 108 a year earlier.
Condominiums showed a steadier picture. The average sale price rose less than 1% to $181,225, while average days on the market were reduced to 61 days from 169 a year earlier.
Four mobile-home sales occurred from May to August, with an average sale price of $43,350, or a decline of 1.8% from a year earlier.
Franklin County recorded 11 land transactions from May to August, with the average sale price declining 21% to $66,581.
Seven multi-family properties sold during the period, with the average sale price jumping 32% to $141,700.
Grand Isle
Grand Isle County, the state’s smallest county by area, also ranked as Northwest Vermont’s smallest in terms of real estate transactions during the months of May through August 2011.
The county, which comprises the four islands in Lake Champlain as well as the peninsula of Alburgh, recorded 27 sold listings from May to August, little changed from 29 sales in the year-earlier period.
The volume of sold listings slipped 1.3% to $6.7 million, although the average sale price for residential properties increased 6% to $249,074.
Single-family home sales represented all of Grand Isle County’s residential sales, with no condominium or mobile home transactions noted during the summer selling months of 2011 or 2010.
Home sellers required more time to market their properties, with average days on the market extending to 175 from 128 in the year-earlier period.
Addison County
Addison County, home to classic Vermont towns such as Middlebury, recorded $27 million in residential sales from May through August 2011, representing a 21% increase from the same period a year earlier.
The county attracts commuters to Burlington and vice versa.
The county witnessed a 19% increase in sold listings, with 107 residential transactions occurring between May through August, compared with 90 a year earlier. The average residential sale price also saw improvement, with single-family homes, condominiums and mobile homes gaining 2.1% in pricing as a whole.
About 94% of the county’s summer transactions were represented by single-family homes, while condominium sales marked another 5.2% of the county’s residential sales. Mobile-home sales represented less than 1% of the area’s transactions.
The average sale price for a single-family home in Addison County averaged $272,638, representing a 6% gain from $256,808 in the year-earlier period. Days on the market shortened, with home sellers needing an average of 155 days to market their properties, down from 213 a year earlier.
Condominiums saw lower sale prices, with the average condo selling for $178,525, or 32% less than in the same period in 2010. Lower prices may have helped shorten the time needed to market condominiums, since days on the market halved to 130 days.
Six mobile homes sold from May to August, with the average sale price increasing 6.5% to $34,483.
The largely rural county recorded 11 sold land listings from May to August. The average sale price rose 14.8% to $127,336, although average days on the market lengthened to 301 in the summer of 2011 from 178 a year earlier.
Northwest Vermont: Luxury Sales
Luxury sales in Northwest Vermont are defined as property sales in the $1 million or higher range. Through August this year, the region’s top eight luxury sales recorded an average price of $1.38 million.
A common theme emerges when looking at 2011’s top property transactions: five of the properties, or more than half, represent sales of waterfront properties, ranging from luxury homes from Grand Isle to Ferrisburgh.
Chittenden County represented the largest concentration of luxury sales, with three Shelburne properties and one Charlotte home selling for more than $1 million. The $1.78 million sale of a property on Shelburne’s secluded Harbor Road marks a high point for luxury sales so far in 2011.
Addison County followed with two luxury sales, with properties ranging from a waterfront home in Ferrisburgh to $1-million-plus sale in New Haven.
Grand Isle County attracted two luxury buyers, with sales of waterfront property in the towns of Grand Isle and South Hero.
Multi-Family Properties
Northwest Vermont has a history of attracting investors to multi-family properties, ranging from duplexes to apartment buildings.
The region’s low vacancy rate and high demand for rental apartments from families, young professionals and students have often created steady past returns for real estate investors.
With Burlington attracting more long-term residents and its colleges admitting more students, the demand for rental housing has continued to be strong. The city’s vacancy rates typically range between 1% to 2%; by comparison, the recent national vacancy rate has hovered around 10%. As a result, that’s driving investor demand for the region’s multi-family properties.
Demand for multi-family properties remained high from May to August, with the number of sold listings jumping 19% to 31 properties during the period. All of those transactions were located in either Chittenden or Franklin counties.
The average sale price for multi-family properties jumped 16% to $275,106, and sellers required fewer days to market their properties, with just 78 days needed in 2011 compared with 97 days a year earlier.
Franklin County’s multi-family properties illustrated the bigger price jump on a percentage basis, although its average sale price was markedly lower than those in Chittenden:
Among Chittenden County’s towns, Burlington grabbed the biggest portion of multi-family transactions, with 16 of the county’s 24 such transactions. South Burlington recorded three multi-family transactions; Milton recorded two; and Winooski, Colchester and Richmond each reported one multi-family sale.
Within Burlington’s market for multi-family properties, the number of sold listings jumped 60% to 16 from May to August, while sales volume on a dollar basis surged 76% to $5.1 million.
Pricing also rose, with the average Burlington multi-family property selling for $315,682, a 10% increase from summer 2010’s average of $286,630.
Source: Coldwell Banker Hickok & Boardman Realty. 10.13.2011