As I was driving into work this morning listening to talk radio I started thinking "Is it really as bad as the media protrays it to be?". It is true that there are tons of foreclosures and short sales available. It is true that people are losing their jobs and companies are closing their doors. It is true that financing is more difficult to obtain now than it has been over the last 5 years.
Now what will boggle your mind and IS A FACT that can't be ignored, SALES ARE UP. Yes...I said it they are up! I am a member of the MLS...ARMLS (Arizona Regional Multiple Listing Service) to be exact. When I arrived at my office this morning I checked the MLS to see a side by side comparison of closed sales from last year to this year. This comparison reflects homes listed in ARMLS that sold in the months October, November and through Dec. 18th of both 2007 and 2008. Hold on to your seats, here goes!
October 2007 - Closed Listings = 3422
October 2008 - Closed Listings = 5365 (up 57% from 2007)
November 2007 - Closed Listings = 3315
November 2008 - Closed Listings = 4407 (up 33% from 2007)
Through December 18th 2007 - Closed Listings = 1678
Through December 18th 2008 - Closed Listings = 2607 (up 55% from 2007)
These numbers are amazing considering the fact that FHA put into place new guidelines in regards to down payment assistance that became effective in October of 2008.
People might say that the average sales price is down compared to last year somewhere within the 30 percentile range. This is true, however, with sales on the rise from last year and taking the law of supply and demand into consideration prices should start to even out soon.
Every Realtor has their opinions of when this "recession" will truly be over, but remember this one thing...You will only know that the bottom has been hit AFTER it has been hit and the market starts to rise again!
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