It's very interesting when you read real estate Blogs or business news these days when they talk about the market recovery. One month of improved sales does not mean a bottom has been hit and we are on the road to recovery. Yes increased activity at open homes could be signs of the market picking up, and it can also be the spring markets were so anemic this year that any activity looks good. I have followed real estate statistics for some time now in several markets. The amazing things is that yes... sales are up, but compared to previous years they are way off their peaks. Sales are off by as much as 50% in some markets, and prices are substantially lower. I know that many homeowners are not doing cartwheels that the numbers of sales are up but that their home is worth a 100K less than 2 years ago. What we all need to see in our real estate markets is many months of back to back increases in sales and price stabilization. Other than that a few months do not constitute a trend. It's just wishful thinking.
This is painful information that a lot of people don't want to hear or admit to. I also think that a lot of people don't recognize that the bigger problem that the real estate market has and that is the excess supply of homes. Until those get absorbed, home values will fall like a stone.
Even if home sales are up 5% from last year, if the supply of homes are up 15%, you have a problem.