Of interest to those agents in and around the Ann Arbor, Michigan neck of the woods (aka Paradise), here are some area statistics for you to chew on! 

From Big House Data's Executive Summary:

Two important twelve month moving average trend lines are  beginning to flatten! The diving trend line on the number of sales is starting to pull up and the climbing trend line on the number of new listings has ceased its ascent. This means that the number of sales is coming back into line with normalcy and that potential sellers are hesitant to go "price fishing." In fact, Big House Data came across a great column a few weeks ago about just this subject. Brian J. O'Connor, in his December 2nd, 2006 Detroit News column nails the problem with the current glut of homes on the market.  Still a buyer's market, anecdotal evidence shows a more confident buyer beginning to appear. It is now not unheard of for sellers to be contacted to submit bids to buyers, as the buyers could live in one of a few homes and just want the best deal.

The good news is that homes are still selling in Michigan.  It may seem hard to fathom, but I have run into buyers recently.  Almost as elusive, I have bumped into a few sellers with equity!  I won't tell you where I found them though!

For those agents not intimately involved in Michigan's real estate market; Michigan is easily nine to twelve months ahead of the rest of the nation's housing market trend.  What is happening to the country's housing market, we went through last year.  With a combination of the low cost of money and scads of inventory currently on the market, I am pleased to see investors sneaking back into our market.  Tells me that the bottom is close or we are at it currently.

What about 2007?  Well, it will likely be similar to the title of a hilarious movie about wine - Sideways.