I happened to be perusing my Facebook page this rainy afternoon and I came across two separate posts from two different friends.
The first declared, "Home Prices Up For Sixth Month in a Row." NPR was the source cited on that, presumably from the S&P/Case-Schiller report that was released early this morning.
Scroll down a bit farther on the page, and another friend has posted, "US Home Sales Tumble" with Reuters listed as the source.
Huh? How can the housing market be both up and down simultaneously? The answer: Semantics!
The first poster was talking about home prices. The other was talking about sales in units. Big difference, but it makes perfect sense. Like much of the country, Marin County real estate inventories (houses available for sale) are very tight. That means fewer sales (or supply) with an increasing demand. Small supply with an increased demand can lead a market higher, and I suspect we Marinites are not alone in experiencing this shift in the market.
The big, 800-pound question hanging over this market remains: What will hapen once government incentives that have stimulated the housing market disappear, and what will happen once rates go up as anticipated later this spring (or sooner)?
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