Another View of the Eastham Real Estate Market

In any discussion of the Eastham marketplace, we can't help but mention that the median price of a single family home in Eastham has dropped significantly since last year. In fact, the 2009 year-to-date (YTD) median price has dropped 16.4% from 2008. I've expounded on the reason for this being a change in the buying pattern, tending toward the low end. I've explained that the data shows a void in the mid-range sales, those in the $450K to $600K range. In fact, there has been a total void in the $500K -$600K range.

One of my fellow Realtors, Gary Kersteen, also a retired engineer, did an extensive analysis of the MLS sales data, looking for clues that might help explain the drop in median sales prices. What he discovered provided an insight that had eluded me. He discovered that the median house square-footage for 2009 also down dramatically from 2008. It's down 18.2%. His conclusion is that the prices are down because the size of the homes being sold is down. Q.E.D.

An interesting calculation is the $/Sqft number. In 2004 the median sale price divided by the median sqft was $299. In 2009 the same number is $298. You should draw some comfort from this factoid.

Take a look at this graph where I've plotted the median sale prices and median home size for the years 2004 through 2009. These prices are YTD through October 31st.