Midwest Sales Report...

Midwest Sales Report

A recent report on Existing Home Sales from the National Association of Realtors is showing that sales "edged down in March," but that these numbers were within a range that has been persisting since last September.  This is what was stated earlier today in an industry related article.

Sales rose in the Northeast and West -- but fell in the Midwest (6.5 percent) and the South. Grayslake, Illinois, an area with new construction, is seeing a strong buyers market at this time.  Home sales are starting to turn around this spring -- after the mortgage crisis and a particularly hard winter.  We saw this hard hit during the month of February and early March as well along the lakeshore of Lake Michigan.

  The median price in the Midwest was $152,600, down 5.3 percent from March 2007. according to this article, which is around the same as our findings.  This is a great opportunity for buyers sitting on the fence to jump off and get a great deal with these lowered prices and low interest rates.

Market Conditions continue to vary -- even by region. With healthy gains seen in one Midwestern city -- Des Moines, Iowa as well as the luxury market that seems to be unhit by the credit fall out.

Our real estate expert, and Realtor, Craig Randall, is reporting that Des Moines inventory is staying fairly consistent this year -- along with pending sales. The average price, he says, dropped to $159,000 in February, was another  report that came out as well and shows that regional employment and the healthiness of their local employers plays a huge roll in how their local markets are maintaining.

He reports that new construction saw a drop as well in the average sales.  Now this is a great thing, as it will allow buyers to come in and buy up new construction properties at a deal, all the while lowering inventory levels.

And finally today, we go to Springboro, Ohio, a town just south of Dayton. The downward trend in home sale activity that has been seen on a national basis occurred in the Dayton area throughout 2007 and continues into 2008, local expert Nora says. She says there around a 13 month supply of homes on the market -- not such good news for sellers.  This has been the case for other mid sized cities that have not had any real growth, but experienced some losses due to business closures and downsizing over the past few years.  Now that number is starting to shrink in Southwestern Michigan and not at a moment to soon.

 With the trends seeming to move more into a positive direction rather than a negative one, I believe we will start to see a rise, although a slow and steady one over the next 12 - 18 months...