When I read the story about an 8 Year High in the Argus and Contra Costa Times, I was not sure. Yes, we saw a lot of increased activity, but are your areas doing the same?
I am in Alameda County, in the San Francisco Bay Area, Fremont CA.
Where are you? and What are you seeing in your office? All comments are appreciated.
Jeff
It seems that everywhere is receiving an "uptick" in action, although mainly in the lower end residential. The luxury segment appears to be remaining very slow! It might be a concern over the validity of cash/fear of inflation that is sending people back to hard asset investments?
In Austin we have seen an upward movement, but the $1mm+ market is in horrible shape. I just went to a presentation and told the owner that the reality is that the market he is in has between a 5-7 years supply of inventory, so testing the market is not even close to an option. We have been hammered by the loss of high paying jobs, so our low unemployment numbers are very misleading. The low end price range is doing well....<$300k. When we hit around $700k, the market shrinks...... One of my farming neighborhoods has had an average of 18 homes on the market and not a single sale in 2009. Pretty nasty......
We are going to have to go through a couple of months to get through alot of REO and short sales to see what the real market is like. Be cautious.
It's SPRING.
Foreclsures that a gobbled up by investor cash buyers, short sales for a few homes that don't go to foreclosure. The regular home seller market is largely dead. Folks just don't want to or cannot sell for today's prices.
Jeff:
There is good news from the Palmetto Housing Market. South Carolina Home Sales increased 13% in June. The number of homes sold in South Carolina has risen for the second-straight month. Are we out of the woods? NOPE!
However, these are encouraging numbers for the real estate industry. Slow and steady wins the race.
HI Jeff.
As a colleague of yours in Fremont, the only up-swing I have seen is the increase in mutilple offers again because we have such LIMITED inventory. Our poor regular sellers are competing with the REO industry.. Yet, the REO industry was on a moratorium for that past 6 months. A few listings have squeezed their way into the market, but in the general sense. We have a poor market. A new report as of today.....Social Security may shrink.....oh goodie more great news for our families that live on the edge. I would love to see is get back into a regular sales market!
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