When Mid-Michigan residents think of the housing market, they probably think to put Saginaw in last place for surging values; however in 2015 the Saginaw Market utterly trumped the Tri-Counties in terms of the percentage of home value increase. Saginaw’s home values increased by 6.18% from 2014 -2015. This makes 8 years in a row that Saginaw has had a home value increase. The average sale is now at $80,700 with a median value of $99,843 versus a $43,700 average back in 2008.
Midland’s average home sale is still higher than Saginaw at $130,000 but 2015 showed a plateau in home prices. Bay County had a strong showing in the number of home sales for 2015 but there too, the home prices rose nominally with a 1.43% increase. This difference demonstrates a notable surge for Saginaw County’s housing market.
There is more good news for Saginaw in terms of home sales as well. 2015 showed an increased number of closings, higher than any year since 2011 with a total of 1,786 homes sold. This lead to more than $178 million dollars in residential sales, which beat the previous year by a good $28 million dollars!
As with any statistical data, there are a variety of ways to look at the year-end figures in all three counties and positives for each. The significant rise in Saginaw home values, however, is awesome news as it means the county is showing its resiliency and bouncing back from the depths of the recession at a great pace. Of other significance in both Saginaw and Midland Counties were the areas of higher distribution. Saginaw saw a wonderful rise in the number of transactions in the $200,000-$300,000 market in 2015. Midland showed an even smaller number of sales in the low end market (under $25,000) this year over last, as well as a significant increase in the $100,000-$150,000 range, while the upper prices held steady. Bay County, which actually took the hardest hit of any county back in 2009 when home values plummeted by more than 50%, has made a slow and steady pick-up and had a strong number of closed residential sales in 2015, beating out its previous 4 years.
What does all of this mean? I believe this means it is a great time to buy or sell! Buyers are able to take advantage of the great interest rates and purchase in a market where the value is steadily climbing. Sellers are able to capitalize on the rising values and have recovered substantial equity. There are also an abundance of buyers out right now seeking good inventory – perhaps because of the unusually warm January weather.
©Monique Gilbert – Realtor, Your Real Estate Matchmaker – Connecting Buyers and Sellers For A Perfect Match *The Figures above were compiled by closed residential transactions as reported by the Saginaw, Midland, & Bay County Boards of Realtors.
Monique Gilbert is a Realtor with Berkshire Hathaway Home Services, located at 2825 Bay Rd. Saginaw, Michigan and is a member of all three Mid-Michigan Board of Realtor Associations. Gilbert can be reached at 989-475-2958.
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