Sep. 16, 2007 - WHERE IS THE MARKET GOING?
With all the fuss and speculation about the real estate market, there is nothing as
unemotionally factual as looking at a chart or graph. That's why info-graphics are so powerful. I was curious about all the
squawks from realtors about the slow market such as "no one is buying or comes to open houses, the phone never rings" and so
forth. Even potential homebuyers complained that the market was slow, yet they have a super-abundance of homes to look at. So
I thought I'd check the single family sales for this year in the MLS to see what was or wasn't happening. Being curious, I
wondered how this year compared with previous years and ended up with this 15 year chart.
Surprise! Sales were up over the same period in 2006, but why was the market so quiet? I had to conclude that
it was partially due to buyers looking at houses on the internet and not needing to visit them first hand to get a feel for
the market. Gas prices could be another factor plus homebuyer uncertainty with the financial market, being upset by all the
foreclosures, and basic conservatism. In a hot market buyers get over-eager, climb on the bandwagon, visit all the open houses
and frequently overpay for homes, but in a slow market they get very timid. Good deals are available for those willing to
bargain and create a negotiating situation.
Anyway, here's what the real estate market looks like for the first 8 months of each of the last 15 years on
sales under $1,000,000. Can you tell where the market is headed? What do you think. - DAVID
Copyright © 2007 By David F. Kelley, Falmouth, MA.
All Rights Reserved.
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