Riverfront Appraisals 2020 Real Estate Year in Review

Hey y’all!  Welcome to our special 2020 Year In Review blog post.  This post will also be a special episode of the new Owensboro Real Estate Update Podcast.  We are less than one week from our official launch, so be sure & subscribe to the podcast so you won’t miss out on any of our episodes, launching this February!

Also, we’re doing something a bit different this year with our review.  In 2020, we opened our satellite office in Tell City, Indiana, so we’re going to discuss the annual real estate market in both Daviess County, Kentucky and Perry County, Indiana.

But first – here’s a statistical head’s up:  All the numbers I’m going to be writing about here are median values (median sale price, days on market, etc).  And, all data has been taken from each market’s MLS.  In Tell City, we actually researched the SIAR MLS as well as MyState MLS.  And, as usual, the numbers I’ll be sharing with you are county-wide.  For purposes of this blog, I haven’t drilled down any further than the county level.  But for specific market segments or neighborhoods, feel free to contact us and we’ll be happy to complete a more precise neighborhood-level market analysis.  Just send me an email to ryanbays@riverfrontappraisals.com

Daviess County, Kentucky

Even though 2020 was a year most of us would rather not remember, for real estate, it’s a year we won’t soon forget.  It was another positive year for pretty much everything in real estate in Daviess County.  We saw around 1,500 homes sell in Daviess County, which is almost 6% more than 2019.  Median sale prices across the county were up 8% to just under $160,000, and homes sold in only 57 days in 2020, four days shorter than the previous year.  Also of note is our list-to-sales price ratio.  This ratio measures how close the homes sell to their original asking price.  Well, it should come as no surprise that sellers weren’t as willing to negotiate in 2020, as they have been in years past, as it was one of the strongest seller’s markets we’ve seen in years.  Homes in 2020 sold for 98.38% of their original list price, compared to 96.64% in 2019.  

When we look at the five-year history of Daviess County sales, we’re up 25% in our median sale prices, and back in 2016, it took homes two weeks more to sell!  So I’d say we all have at least something to be thankful for from 2020!

Fun Facts:

We had two homes sell over $1M and both were on Griffith Avenue.  1520 Griffith sold for $1.2M and 1024 Griffith sold for just under $1.7M.

Our sweet spot is still between $100,000 – $200,000.  Roughly 800 of the 1,500+ homes sold in 2020 were from this price range.

Wondering how the east side compared to the west side?  The chart below shows the difference in 2020 sales, along with the five year history for the two largest zip codes in Daviess County.

[bctt tweet=”When we look at the five-year history of Daviess County sales, we’re up 25% in our median sale prices, and back in 2016, it took homes two weeks more to sell!  So I’d say we all have at least something to be thankful for from 2020!” username=”RiverfrontApp”]

West Vs East

Perry County, Indiana

Perry County sales require a little more digging.  The majority of real estate agents in Perry County list through MyState MLS, while a few list through the Southwest Indiana Association of Realtors MLS (SIAR).  We are members of both MLS systems, which is a must in order to get a true picture of the real estate market.

Like it’s close neighbor across the Ohio River, 2020 was a good year for real estate in Perry County, with one exception.  We saw a massive jump in the number of homes sold in 2020.  Last year 208 homes sold, which was up almost 28% from 2019, and up 58% over the last five years!  And, while the five-year median sale prices are up 32% (incredible!), 2020 actually saw a slight decline in median home values, down 5% from the previous year, to a median $115,725.  Despite the slight decline in values, homes sold much quicker than in 2019 (11 days quicker, in fact), and they sold for 97.5% of list price, which was much better than the 94.5% we saw in 2019.  Well done, everyone!

Fun Facts:

The most expensive home sold in 2020 was an incredible property on Highway 166 in Tobinsport, right on the Ohio River, with almost 93 acres of land, which sold for $700,000.

While not residential, it’s still fun – Perry County is getting a new hotel!  It was announced late in 2020 that a new hotel will be built on 7th Street, and it is expected to be open by the end of 2021!

Conclusion

Both Daviess County and Perry County showed impressive growth in various areas of real estate in 2020 – a year which for most of the world was marked with sickness, uncertainty, and even job loss.  It’s great to be able to report the positives that came out of such a rotten year!  And, I hope that this time next year when we do this all over again, I will be able to report another year of positive growth for these markets.

[bctt tweet=”Both Daviess County and Perry County showed impressive growth in various areas of real estate in 2020 – a year which for most of the world was marked with sickness, uncertainty, and even job loss.  It’s great to be able to report the positives that came out of such a rotten year! ” username=”RiverfrontApp”]

If you have any questions about the real estate market where you live, or the market value of your home, you need someone who can provide you with information in an objective, unbiased, and independent manner.  Contact Riverfront Appraisals today to schedule an appointment with one of our appraisers, and you’ll be well on your way to understanding your home’s market value.

Riverfront Appraisals Owensboro Office – (270) 281-0260

Riverfront Appraisals Tell City Office – (812) 548-6289

Committed to helping you understand your home’s market value,

Ryan Bays, SRA, AI-RRS