As we make our marketing push into our neighboring state of Rhode Island, we must be able to speak intelligently about the condominium market of the state. As mentioned in the Rhode Island Real Estate article yesterday, Rhode Island has the second highest population density in the country. This should lend well to condo unit sales.
Lincoln Rhode Island Condo Sales Data for 2013
Lincoln has 36 condominium projects, 19 of them have 10 units are less. There are 4 projects that are currently approved with FHA, including the largest community, Highland Falls. In these condominiums, 314 units are available for FHA financing; the remaining condominiums total 591 units. Before FHA’s changes in 2011 there were 9 projects on FHA’s Approved Condominiums List.
Analysis of Data We typically divide the listing data into those in FHA-approved condos and those that are in non-FHA projects. For our business, it’s good to analyze the difference between the two. Sales in the 4 communities that are FHA-approved accounted for nearly half of the sales during 2014 in Lincoln. In Lincoln, condominium listings only have a 59% chance of selling overall. However, units listed in FHA-approved condominiums have nearly a 3:1 ratio of sold units to unsold units. In non-FHA projects, units are only slightly more likely to sell than to not sell. This is consistent with other towns and cities that we have examined. The average and median marketing times were roughly the same in FHA-approved and non-FHA communities. Units in FHA-approved projects had a median sales price $25,000 higher than in non-FHA projects. This means that the half of units that sold in non-FHA condos were under the $140,000 price mark. This price range is a prime target for investors looking for low-cost rental units. In fact, more than 1/3 of the units sold in non-FHA condominiums were under $100,000 Of the 24 listings that expired or were withdrawn in non-FHA condominiums, 20 of them had list prices below $250,000. This is FHA’s “sweet spot” and had they been approved with FHA, the increased number of buyers may have impacted their potential to sell. As a comparison, in 2013 single family homes under $250,000 had a 61% close rate. *NOTE: Closed, Expired and Withdrawn listing percentages are calculated by removing the currently Active and Pending Sale data to account only for listings that are no longer on the market. This is why the percentage of closed sales plus the percentage of NOT closed sales may not equal 100%. Top Photo Credit: (c) Can Stock Photo / imphot
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