Almost every indicator for March showed the market much stronger than January & February. Part of this could be seasonal, however on a % basis things were pretty good. The number of single family home sales were up 45% and condo sales were up 55%! Median home prices month over month were up 8% and condos up 2.6%. Days on market for homes were down 30% and 32% for condos. This is twofold: things are selling quicker and things that aren't selling, sellers are pulling off the market to rent. This is also reflected in the inventory with 27 less homes on the market than the previous month. However, condo inventory is up 75 units in the same period.
Could this be a sign of a recovery? Although early to say, there was a recent article in Forbes indicating that the economy could possibly have bottomed out. Given all the bad financial news this past fall, that trickled over to closings & statistics in January & February. March's stats paint a better picture of what's been happening since the beginning of 2009, with most properties that went under contract in mid- January & shortly thereafter equate to closings in March.
I've also noticed buyer activity picking up dramatically. I thought I had a busy open house last Sunday with 30 parties coming through. Another agent in my office had 50 parties (yes Five Zero) come through his! Not too long ago most agents I talked to would be happy with 10 parties...
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