What's Happening in Today's Market

Prices are definitely stabilizing somewhat in all local areas.  As you can see from the chart below, all of these areas saw an increase in median price from the 1st quarter to the 2nd quarter of this year.  It's the first time since 2006 there has been a quarter to quarter increase in median price.  Does that mean that home prices are increasing?  No, the more likely explanation is that sales of higher priced homes that were sitting for longer periods of time are now beginning to sell.  Combine that with the dramatic uptick in activity in some of the lower price ranges, and there are definitive signs that the market in most of our local areas is bottoming out and we are starting to see a floor under the price depreciation over the past few years.  Despite this, it is still somewhat of a buyer's market, as homes that aren't properly priced or have some other deficiencies that buyer's can't overlook.  Also, appraisers have added a wrinkle to many home sales in that they are being much more conservative in their approaches, and are reluctant to appraise a home at the contract price if there are lower comparable sales in the area, even if those comparables are distressed sales of foreclosures and short sales.  Banks are still holding back a fairly large inventory of foreclosed homes, so buyers can expect more choices as some of those hit the market in the upcoming months.