“There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics.” – Mark Twain
My name is Jay Ferguson and I am one of the owners of the real estate division of Taylor Made Deep Creek Vacations & Sales. I am entering my 19th year in the real estate business here in Garrett County and at Deep Creek Lake.If you are interested, you can click here find out more about me personally and my background.
I will be writing a monthly blog post about our local real estate market, sharing & interpreting statistics and offering some insights into the market as a whole…as I see it. These are my personal thoughts and musings about the market in general and are not intended as anything more specific. And, to be clear, I am an optimistic, glass half-full kind of guy.
Lastly, every stat I reference is based on the official stats published by Bright MLS on or around the 15th of each month. My plan is to give you straightforward stats coupled with my analysis from the front lines and let you interpret what you read in your own way.
August 2019 – We finished the month with 69 new listings, down from 71 new listings in July. The biggest news I report on below is the massive jump in median sales price. It rose 59.2% to $306,500! I think more lakefront sales (higher overall sales price) play the biggest part here in determining this stat. More positive news – interest rates dropped again this week and that should pave the way for more buyers who just cannot pass up the opportunity to purchase a primary home or even a weekend getaway and pay historically low interest rates. The leaves are starting to change and showing signs of fall, but the stats below show that the summer of 2019 at DCL is still going strong!
The specifics:
-There were slightly less new listings in August …69 new listings versus 71 in July. That is dead on with the 5 year average.
-Pending sales (homes that went under contract) were down 21.8% – 61 total homes. This is trending higher than the five year average and is an exact match to August 2018.
-Closed sales (homes that actually sold) were up 20% from last month, with a total of 48 sales county-wide. That’s up 37.1% from August 2018.
-The total number of active listings is now down to 425 active listings. Inventory continues to drop overall – a fantastic sign of a healthy market.
-The average sold to original listing price (OLP) ratio is down to 6% from 93.4% last month. The five year average was 89.2% and year to date is 91.7%.
-The median sold price was $306,500, up 59.2% from last months $192,500. The 5 year August average is $250,150. I say this every month, but it bears repeating again – this number is always going to be off month to month. We don’t have a cookie cutter market, as ALL of Garrett County is factored into theses stats. Some months, big dollar lake homes sales skew this number higher and other months. Interested in more specific stats for YOUR property/neighborhood? Drop me an email jay@deepcreekvacations.com
-The average days on market (DOM) was 115, down from 164 days last month. Properties sold nearly 50 days faster in August. More people in town, easier to view homes and make offers.
In summary, August was great. It was pretty dry, overall, and that brings a lot of crowds to our area to enjoy the outdoors. Cooler autumn weather is here now (45 degrees last night!) and the leaves are starting to turn. There is a slightly different profile of purchaser who comes to visit in the gorgeous months of fall – less focus on the lake but more focus on things like biking, hiking, golfing & fishing. There’s something for everyone to enjoy here at Deep Creek Lake!
Questions about the market? Whether you are buying or selling, I can put my experience to work for you! Contact me anytime for a free market analysis of any property you may be interested in purchasing or selling!
Jay Ferguson
Co-Owner
Associate Broker
301-501-0420 – cell