The problem in the mortgage market in the early part of August is reflected in the latest sales figures for Ada County Real Estate.  As you might remember, at the beginning of the month a couple of large lenders abruptly closed their doors, leaving many borrowers stranded without funding.  Not all of those deals were saved, apparently.  Sales of Single Family Homes (not counting acreage, townhomes, mobiles, or condos) at 656 units were a bit below July's weak 667 number, continuing the trend we've watched since April.  This makes March our high month of the year, which is very unusual.

Another sign that the mortgage problems affected our market is in the "Pending" number, which right now stands at only 557.  This is the lowest number I've seen all year, and in March it was running well over 800.  It indicates that we're getting fewer homes under contract now so the closed figures for the rest of the year will continue to decline.  Some of that is seasonal of course, but after the high hopes of the spring, many sellers are feeling let down in this market.

There are still too many homes on the market, with 4764 active listings in Ada this morning.  That is down slightly from  over 4850 a week or so ago.  Our market would look a lot better if the folks who are not serious about selling would take their signs down.  There are still too many homes priced well over what the market is paying right now.  Buyers have a lot of great real estate to choose from now, so there is no reason to be holding on to last summer's expectations.

For buyers, this is a great market.  There is plenty of possibilities to choose from, in all price ranges, and new construction homes with plenty of upgrades are available at prices that seem very reasonable to me.  For sellers, all I can suggest is that you pay attention to your agent, and to the statistics and figures he has for you.  Get your property in shape before you list it, price it right, be willing to listen to real buyers and negotiate any offers.  Homes are selling.  Concentrate on your goal, not on the last possible dollar.  I've seen offers refused in this market that were 97% of asking price.  Are they really for sale?  They could be moved by now, which was the goal, wasn't it?  Trust your agent, not your friends and realtives.