Unit Price Update 2018

Good boards do have consequences for owners. I sometimes wonder if my eight years on this HOA board was of any value or consequence. When I walk the many acres, I do see the upgrades and repairs. Even more are "hidden" in garages and underground.

We've completed an unusual number of projects since 2010.  During that period there has been a transformation. The economy has improved, too. Our fees began stabilizing in 2010, and have moderated since then, while we completed some really significant projects from landscaping, to roofs, streams, roads, driveways, garage floors and hundreds of feet of water main replacements, etc.

For owners, moderating fees mean lower annual costs to live here. For owners who decide to sell, they may reap higher value simply because our units are not only desireable, but are more affordable. I've been preaching this to anyone who will listen since 2007:

• Cost to own = mortgage principal + interest + taxes + HOA fees

To the above owners must add the cost of their improvements and utilities. But owners do have a lot of control over those costs.

Here's a chart of unit sales prices since 2009.  In 2009 we were in the midst of the "great recession" and fear ruled the land. (That recession was officially from December 2007 to June 2009).  Home prices were dropping as banks restricted mortgages and buyers were shut out of the market.  So how are things today, as of August 2018?

The chart is in dollars per square foot. You can compare this to Wheaton prices overall, which are $190 per square foot  and $174 per square foot according to Tulia.  The chart was determined using published sale prices. For my chart I used 1311 square feet for the A & B units. For the C & D units I used 1056 square feet.  The units are 1-3 bedroom and 1-2 baths.

I've excluded several sales listed as $0 and $1 sales prices. If there were no unit sales in a year I inserted a straight line from the previous year to the following year. This occurred for C and D units. In 2009 there were no "D" unit sales and in 2010 there were no "C" unit sales. There was only one "C" unit sale in 2009 for a high price so it might be an outlier.

In the period 2009 to August 8, 2018 nearly half of our units have been sold and changed hands. Our A & B units are larger in square footage, bedrooms and baths, while the C & D units are smaller. Here's the graph:

In the period 2009 to August 8, 2018 nearly half of our units have been sold and changed hands.