Piedmont Upward Trend Endures

Piedmont’s real estate market continued its strengthening trend through the end of the year, and year-over-year compared to 2011.

 

The average sale price for a Piedmont home in 2012 (per the Multiple Listing Service) was $1.457 million, about 2.4% over the asking price, on average.  The typical home sold in 21 days on the market.  Prices ranged from a high of $6.5 million to a low of $510,000.  In contrast to other parts of the regional market, more homes sold this year than last:   131 homes sold compared to 121 in 2011.  On a price per square foot basis, prices in 2012 are up 9.5% compared to 2011.  Because the range of home prices is relatively consistent over these two years, this is probably a good indicator of pricing trends—in other areas the trend is affected by a sudden influx of higher-end homes going to market, dragging the average price up.

 

The fourth quarter of 2012 say a firing of these trends, despite the usual slowness of the holiday market:  The average price of a Piedmont home sold was $1.48 million, or $544/sf.  The typical home sold in 27 days, and prices ranged from $4 million to $800,000. 

 

We’re increasingly seeing homes selling off market, and those prices are not necessarily included here (realtors can report prices to the MLS “for comparable purposes only” after the fact, but some sellers prefer to maintain confidentiality, for an array of reasons).  These sales often see a number of bumps on the road to the final sale, as sellers think they might have gotten a better price if the house were more widely marketed, and buyers feel they should get a discount for bringing a “good” price to the seller with what they perceive to be little effort. There are certainly good reasons for some sellers to close without a more public sale, but agents in the field typically understand that this approach does not bring the highest and best offer, and often leaves sellers wondering what they missed out on.