September Hot, October Not

This week we take a look at how deeply the real estate market has been affected by the economic downturn. Back in early September, before the AIG rescue and the bank mergers, the real estate market was healthy. The number of homes under contract in northwest Bergen was running slightly ahead of last year. Then the bailout plan was introduced around September 19th, and we still managed to finish out the month only 10% behind last September. But in October*, the number of homes under contract has fallen 31%.
Another measure I use to gauge the market is how many online visitors are viewing my listings. In early October, web traffic dropped suddenly and significantly. But week by week through October, web traffic has been returning. October ended with levels similar to September.