It’s not the brutal February weather that we experienced last year, but winter has finally arrived in the City of Ships this month with long-awaited snowfalls and some colder temps.  As unsettled as the weather may be, the Bath Real Estate Market is anything but!  For the first month of the year, home sales volume is up over the prior month, and much improved over January 2015.

January Current Inventory dropped even further from year-end levels, which also puts it well below where we began 2015.  We also saw in January, a decrease in Pending Home Sales, but an increase in Closed Sales, when compared to December.  Presumably, delays in closings from the new Loan Disclosure and notification requirements have worked their way through the pipeline now, and some lenders are telling us they can close within 45 days again.

January ended with 56 Current Listings (down 10 from December and the lowest level we can recall in a very long time!),  21 Pending Sales (down 5 from December), and 12 Closed Sales in January (up 5 from December).   Average Sales Price to List Price Ratio came in at 99% for January, up 1 point from the prior month.

We can compare January 2016 with January 2015 in Bath:

• 56 Current listings in 2016 vs. 72 last January;
• 21 Pending Sales in 2016 vs. 13 last January;
• 12 Closed Sales in 2016 vs. 3 last January;
• January 2016 Median Sales Price $131,000 vs. January 2015 Median Sales Price $165,000

Of note is that, for the dozen sales that closed in Bath during January 2016, all sold for $150,000 or less.  While, it is typical that buyers get good deals on homes put under contract in November and December, it isn’t typical that there would be no home sales at higher price points in Bath.  This phenomena brought the Sold Median Price down considerably. 

If you plan to buy or sell a home in Bath, call Maine Home Realty today!