There seems to be one thing on the mind of most buyers and sellers today and that is, “how is our local real estate market faring?” In fact, most conversations that I’ve had lately have focused around this very issue. So, I thought I’d take some time in my first blog to talk about our local real estate market and shed some light on what exactly is going on here in Rapid City and the Black Hills area.

According to the latest MLS data (as of 6/1/09), our average price on preowned houses that have sold to date is down 2% over last year, which equates to only about $1,500. The new construction market is taking a bit more of a hit with average sold prices down 7% or roughly $16,000 over last year. While a $16,000 hit is not great news for builders, it is encouraging for buyers and sellers to know that their house prices are holding pretty steady and that they can pick up a new construction house for less than this same time last year. The other statistic that is worth mentioning is the average days on market. For preowned houses, that time frame is up just 7 days over 2008, again very positive news as 1 week is hardly worth worrying about in the grand scheme of things!

So, as you can see from our market data, we are still holding our own here in Rapid City and the Black Hills. Of course this data is an average of all areas and things can always be broken down further, so to get a very clear picture of the value on your specific house, please give me a call.

Although the weather doesn’t seem to be showing it in Rapid City, we ARE entering our busy time of year for real estate and if you have considered making a change, now is the time to do it! I’m here to help in any way I can and look forward to hearing from you!