I recently posted a request on facebook for blog ideas and one smarty pants wanted to know when the market was going to come back up.  Well, if I knew that I'd be sipping a pina colada on a beach located on Krista Island!

But it did get me wondering how we are comparing this year to other years.  I know how we're doing this year but the specifics of other years are fuzzy so I researched the numbers to clear things up.

I split my research into pricing categories of $0-$200,000, $200,000-$400,000, $400,000-$600,000, $600,000-$800,000 and $800,000-$1,000,000.  I did this because when I see trends in the field I see them in price ranges mostly.

All of the numbers represent residential real estate in all of Chester County.

$0-$200,000

This price range is the "First Time Home Buyer" range and is usually strong.  This year, I think, it has shown more strength due to the Tax Credit involved.

As you can see from the chart 2006 and 2007 started off the same but 2007 ended lower.  2008 and 2009 started lower than 2006 and 2007 but 2009 surged up to 2006 levels with the data ending in September.  This surge was most likely due to the tax credit the government offered.  But was it also due to homeowners lowering their prices? Let's see!

This graph shows that home prices have been pretty constant for the past few years.  It also shows that home prices are on an upward trend this year.  In September of all the other years it shows the trend is downward but this year it upward! 

So I think it's pretty clear that the first time home buyer tax credit worked well in Chester County because home sales are up along with average sold prices in the $0-$200,000 group.

The goal of the tax credit was to get more people into the housing market with the hopes of the effects trickling upward in the market.  So stay tuned to see if that worked in Chester County PA!

 Krista Fuchs, Realtor  Giving You The Attention You Deserve

I can always be reached directly at 484.459.8025

Prudential Fox & Roach Realtors

484.875.2600

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