If one simply listened to the national news and read the local newspaper, you might believe the title of this blog post. If you read the commentary printed in the today's Springfield Republican's MetroSouth Plus edition which was excerpted from MassLive's Longmeadow forum (see left insert), you would have no doubts about the state of Longmeadow's real estate.
However, your understanding would be wrong!
The quoted number of 19 foreclosures is an exaggeration of what is currently happening in Longmeadow. According to a FY2008 report issued by Donald Ashe, Hampden County Register of Deeds, there were only 8 foreclosures recorded in the year period ending June 30, 2008. This figure is an increase from 3 in the prior year. With over 5500 homes in Longmeadow, this is still a very low percentage (0.15%) of homes that have been foreclosed- certainly much lower than other regions of the US and not indicative of any major real estate problem in Longmeadow.
It is also not true that there are a extraordinarily large number of homes for sale in Longmeadow at this time. According to Realtor.com there are ~ 111 homes up for sale through MLS + another 15 homes via FSBO for a total of ~126 which is about normal for this time of the year- only about 2.3% of the total number of homes.
Here are some sobering facts....
1. 2008 YTD home sales in Longmeadow are ~ 23% lower than last year.
2. The median price of homes sold in Longmeadow has dropped from ~ $350,000 to $300,000 over the past year.
Both of these statistics reflect the national housing crisis.
However, there is some good news...
1. Median prices have stabilized for the past five months.
2. Home sales in July jumped to their highest level in almost a year.
Perhaps we are seeing the formation of a bottom in the Longmeadow real estate market.
No question that it is still pretty tough to sell a house in our town but Longmeadow is still a very desirable place to live and the Longmeadow real estate market reflects that value.
If you are interested in more information on this subject, visit Real Estate Buzz at LongmeadowBiz.
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