Alright, maybe it's too early to begin celebrating the abrupt end of real estate's 6 year malaise. Maybe we should put down the noise makers and shed the party hats before we look foolish. Mammoth's first quarter sales look a lot like last year's. 71 condos sold to start this year versus 74 in the first 3 months of 2012--the median sales price lurching ahead a tepid $1,000 to $272,000.
Single family home transactions were no different. 21 sold in quarter one this year equalling last year's 21 first quarter sales. The median price of sold homes in Mammoth Lakes actually slipped $7,000 to $575,000. Bank owned and short sales have accounted for about 38% of sales so far this year compared to 47% of sales in quarter one of 2012.
But don't toss your party favors just yet. There's real encouragement in other numbers. Take average sales prices. The average price of a Mammoth condo sold jumped 11% in quarter one of 2013 to $324,511; the average home price rose 19% to $762,714. And it took 70 fewer days to sell those homes this year.
There's even more to like on the listing front. A scant 112 condos are on the market in Mammoth today--3 REO's and 6 short sales--and only 40 homes, none of which are bank owned or being sold short. These are anemic numbers representing near term lows. Meanwhile pending sales, a momentum indicator, are strong. 63 condos and 14 homes are under contract.
So, while it may be too early to round up camping gear for the next developer's launch it's not too early to start scouting for a piece of Mammoth to call your own. I think we've seen the bottom and it's behind us.
