Shrewsbury's Single Family Sellers Buck the Downturn Trend

A show of hands, please: How many of you feel that you would have been better off selling your home seven years ago when the economy was hot, hot, hot? Well, if your home is in Shrewsbury, 2008 would have been the time to sell! Apparently Shrewsbury hasn't heard of the housing crisis. Or if it has, it's not listening, at least as far as single family homes go. Thanks to the MLS Property information Network, we can go back seven years to compare. Let's take a look at the statistics from 2002 in the 01545 area: • Total market volume for 2008 was up by nearly $54 million from 2002. • Average home price for 2008 was up by more than $46 thousand from 2002. • The total number of homes sold in 2008 was up by 98 from 2002. • The median home price in 2008 was up $72,365 from 2002. • In 2002, 27 single family homes sold over $500,000 and only 2 single family homes sold over a million. • In 2008, 79 single family homes sold over $500,000 and 5 single family homes sold over a million.

By Elizabeth Hanson No question, the economy is in shambles. Foreclosures are up. Certainly jobs have been lost. Credit is tight. Who knows when the stock market will recoup its recent losses? Retail sales have slipped so much that many department stores are closing their doors forever. Consumer confidence, so critical to our economy, has collapsed. But in Shrewsbury, we are still selling single family homes.

While it is nearly impossible to determine how long the current housing crisis will last, it is valuable to point out that all housing markets are not the same. Every city and town's unique character has a huge role to play. If 2008 figures portray an "up" market for single family homes, 2009 has the potential to be even stronger in Shrewsbury due to the historically low interest rates, stable prices and increasing demand. Can you imagine where the sales of Shrewsbury's single family homes will go if the planned economic stimulus package reboots our economy? But let's not be greedy... aggressive pricing is still the only way to sell, even in Shrewsbury! For sellers' statistics on your town, contact Elizabeth, and receive a complimentary broker's price opinion. Elizabeth Hanson/Independent Real Estate Group/508-864-1012 or on the web at www.Mass- MetroHomes.com.