Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle . . .
Action in the real estate market has increased to the point that, in my opinion from what I have witnessed, I can truly say there has been more activity (showing appointments, contracts written and closings) in the past 30-45 days than in the past four months combined. Cautiously, we approach May, June, and July with optimism.
Just a blip? Can the market continue to be active?
One or two months of activity does not yet indicate a trend. This could be just a ruffle of action. Time will tell, but let's hope that this will continue throughout the remainder of 2008. We can create our own future by spreading this whirlwind of action through hard work to close the sale while working with lenders' new restrictions and conservative appraisals.
Obstacles challenge all involved in the real estate transaction. The goal is to hang in there if buying or selling. There exists a ripple effect when sales begin -- when a buyer completes a
sale, it frees a seller to begin seriously shopping, which can lead to another sale, and so forth.
Looking up. Now for the facts to support this level of activity.
In some neighborhoods, sales have averaged about one a month for a while. Now, those same areas have five to six pending contracts. Compared to one home sale per month, this is incredible.
Sale prices are not, in most cases, showing increases in value. In fact, some decreases in value, in current sale prices are reflected in the closed sale data. The volume of sales has increased but the values are tending to remain the same or decrease slightly. Another fact: there are fewer properties on the market.
The Home Builders and Contractors of Brevard recently wrapped up its Parade of Homes on a high note, encouraged by the traffic they saw at their sales sites. Upswings in the market have to start somewhere. While this could be a short-term blip in the market, it also could be the
beginnings of a better summer.
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