Observations on 2009 Sales

Definite trends have emerged in the sales during the first half of 2009's real estate market. Similar to the later part of last year, bank owned properties are a large part of the business. Over 23% of all sales through the local MLS were bank owned properties. Our market has now seen the emergence of short sales. Over 7% of all sales in the MLS during the first half of 2009 were listed as potential short sales. In the spring of 2008 most buyers did not even know what a short sale was. This means that close to a third of all properties sold were distressed. It looks like the majority of buyers still do not want to spend the time fixing up a distressed property. To compete sellers should have their property in tip top shape and priced right.

Sales Agreements Increase in June

Preliminary numbers show a slight increase in sales agreements for the month of June compared to June of 2008. Most years show a signficiant decrease in sales agreements in July. This is a difficult month to view homes because many are rented and often times buyers do not want to travel here on the turn over days. It will be interesting to see what this July brings since interest rates are so good and good values seem to be coming out of the wood work now.