Last week the Market Update presented October 2019 sales data by bedroom that indicated that median sales prices were flat despite a situation with high demand and lower interest rates. This curious combination prompted a look at the median price per square foot in an effort to minimize home size as a variable in the sales data and to reduce the effect of extreme high or low values.
- Median sales price/square foot ($/SF) in Oct 2019 was within ±1.5% of Oct 2018 for 2 bedroom and 4 bedroom homes, which is essentially flat.
- However, Median $/SF increased about 4.6% for 3 bedroom homes, and 7.7% for 5+ bedroom houses in October 2018 versus October 2019.
While examining median $/SF, I revisited one of the more surprising things I noticed earlier this year, which is that a 3 bedroom home with only 1 bath sells at a significant discount compared to a 2 bedroom home with 2 bathrooms in terms of $/SF. This held true for Oct 2019, indicating there is an opportunity to increase the value of a 3 bedroom house with only 1 bath by $13,000 to 20,000,
even if it means losing one of the bedrooms.
