About Kenai River Home Sales
Who wouldn’t want to be able to fish the Kenai River from their backyard after work each night. Demand for real estate on the Kenai River is strong and the average sales price has increased for each of the last three years. 2014 saw a big jump in activity with 24 sales in the Kenai & Soldotna area. The average sales price also increased as the upper end of the market saw increased activity.
| Kenai River Real Estate | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 | 2011 | ||||
| Number Of Sales | 24 | 17 | 15 | 14 | ||||
| Average days on Market | 263 | 156 | 282 | 302 | ||||
| AVG Original List Price | $516,106 | $441,126 | $423,697 | $514,529 | ||||
| AVG List Price at Offer | $478,450 | $416,891 | $429,120 | $458,464 | ||||
| AVG Sales Price | $460,739 | $382,941 | $373,446 | $412,092 | ||||
| Highest Sale | $975,000 | $950,000 | $750,000 | $551,700 | ||||
| Lowest Sale | $145,000 | $162,500 | $200,000 | $245,000 | ||||
How Long Does it Take to sell a Kenai River Home?
It still takes on average 250 days to sell a Kenai River home and when they do sell it is usually for about 86% of the original list price. Most homes that do sell have had at least one price reduction before an offer. PLEASE NOTE: a significant number of Kenai River listing are on the market for multiple years falling off in the winter and re-listing in the summer. So for many home owner the 250 day market time could have been after 2 fail attempts in prior years. Conversely half of the sales in 2014 sold in less then 74 days. A little less than a quarter of those sold in less than 20 days.
So what does this mean? Buyer will purchase quality wells constructed and maintained homes that are priced to market.
Kenai River Home Sales by Price Range
After looking at the prices for a decent house on the Kenai River you will likely begin to wonder what reality is. 58% of the homes sold on the Kenai River sell for under $400,000. Those that sell for under $300,000 are small cabins or older dated homes. Only 12% or 8 of the homes sold since 2011 sell for more than $600,000. $400,000 to $600,000 with buy you a nice house that you could live in year round comfortably.
| $100,000’s | 7 | 10% |
| $200,000’s | 10 | 15% |
| $300,000’s | 22 | 33% |
| $400,000’s | 7 | 10% |
| $500,000’s | 13 | 19% |
| $600,000’s | 2 | 3% |
| $700,000’s | 4 | 6% |
| $800,000’s | 0% | |
| $900,000’s | 2 | 3% |
From January 2011 to November 2014,
When is the best time to sell Kenai River Real Estate?
Salmon fishing is seasonal on the Kenai River and so is the inventory of river homes. Often sellers will wait until the fish run to list their home for sale. Many homeowners who live out of state prefer this method so they can keep an eye on the property. Unfortunately for them they could be missing over half of the active buyers in the market. In three of the past four years over 50% of the Kenai River home sales went under contract before July 1st.
| Kenai River Real Estate | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 | 2011 | ||||
| Pending in Q1 | 4 | 17% | 4 | 24% | 3 | 20% | 1 | 7% |
| Pending in Q2 | 8 | 33% | 10 | 59% | 8 | 53% | 4 | 29% |
| Pending in Q3 | 11 | 46% | 1 | 6% | 3 | 20% | 9 | 64% |
| Pending in Q4 | 1 | 4% | 2 | 12% | 1 | 7% | 0% |
In two of the past four year over 50% of the Kenai River homes sold and closed before July 1st. If you are serious about selling your Kenai River home you need to be listed starting February or March and keep it on the market until it sells. Serious buyers can search for home online from anywhere on the planet and many will make a special trip to the area during spring to secure a home before the summer frenzy starts. Also keep in mind that many Kenai River buyers live in Anchorage and it is not a big deal for them to drive down during the weekend and checkout a home.
| Kenai River Real Estate | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 | 2011 | ||||
| Closed in Q1 | 1 | 4% | 3 | 18% | 2 | 13% | 1 | 7% |
| Closed in Q2 | 8 | 33% | 9 | 53% | 8 | 53% | 1 | 7% |
| Closed in Q3 | 13 | 54% | 3 | 18% | 3 | 20% | 10 | 71% |
| Closed in Q4 | 1 | 4% | 2 | 12% | 2 | 13% | 2 | 14% |
Kenai River Buyers have Choices
In the best year of the past four years only about half of the listed inventory sold, in most year only 25% of the listed Kenai River homes sold. Buyers are not stupid and will not buy junk and honestly they don’t have to. Buyers that can afford to spend an extra $400,000 to $600,000 on a second home can afford to wait until they find what they want. Another factor to consider: most recreational property in the lower 48 took a hit during the real estate crash of 2007. We have a significant amount of competition from other markets for the same money. Particularly when the season of activity is only 3 to 4 months for fishing on the Kenai. You can go ocean fishing year round in most southern states.
Statistical data based upon sales reported with in the Alaska MLS. Deemed accurate for general trend analysis but is not guaranteed.
