Good News, Bad News report in from the National Association of Realtors today. First the Good News – prices rose from December 2008 (it was the first year-over-year gain in median price since August 2007), annual sales improved in 2009 (it was the first annual sales gain since 2005), and unsold inventory is at the lowest level since March 2006.
Now for the Bad News — after eight months of sales gains in a row, existing-home sales fell as expected in December after first-time buyers rushed to complete sales before the original November deadline for the tax credit.
Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said there were no surprises in the data. “It’s significant that home sales remain above year-ago levels, but the market is going through a period of swings driven by the tax credit,” he said. “We’ll likely have another surge in the spring as home buyers take advantage of the extended and expanded tax credit. By early summer the overall market should benefit from more balanced inventory, and sales are on track to rise again in 2010.”
NAR President Vicki Cox Golder, owner of Vicki L. Cox & Associates in Tucson, Ariz., said market conditions are challenging in some areas. “There’s a shortage of lower priced homes for sale in much of the country, resulting in multiple bids in some areas. Raw unsold inventory has been trending down. As the market heats up again this spring, buyers may need to be prepared to move quickly on a particular home.”
Click Here for the Full Report.
So what does this report mean to you and I the foreclosure investor? Well, to begin, I expected to see a drop off in sales in December as the November 30th deadline gave an early artificial push of sales, that will show more sales over the next few months as we approach the the next April 30th contract deadline for the credit. So that was not a shocker.
What I did catch in this report, is that 3 of 4 regions had median price gains year over year and that is really good news. It shows the market has stabilized and a bottom is forming. We will continue to see more foreclosures in 2010 than from 2009, so the opportunities to buy REOs at a discount are here, at the same time we have a ton of homebuyers looking for move-in ready homes to sell our deals to.
Life is great for investors and the REO deals are out there… but not where the masses are looking. There are a ton of REOs not listed on the market (aka: phantom inventory) that you need to get on the inside and start buying for 50% off now, while we still have them.
And if you are like me and many of my clients, who learn best by “doing”… give Jim a call asap. I’m having a secret sale this week that expires this Friday — that you won’t want to miss. 800-310-7730 x114 for the details.
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