Recovery?

The raw data suggests that the market is normalizing. I wouldn't solely rely on the MLS numbers as it is more looking backwards rather than forwards. What we don't have clear access to is future REO sales, people in pre-foreclosure and REO owned property that is not on the market. There are reports from RealtyTrac.com that there is a shadow inventory of REO that has yet to hit the market. I know of a few properties that have foreclosed but have yet to reappear on the market. So I think there is some truth to that.

What I am seeing - properties in prime locations are selling well and quickly. There have been some multiple bids on properties. I won't say bidding wars, but what is happening is a property has had a few buyers circling, buyer 1 finally puts in an offer and then the seller lets everyone know they have an offer and then buyer 2 either walks away because they don't want to enter a bidding war, or they put in a very competitive offer. Now that offer may be for the same dollar amount or maybe even slightly less, but if one has 20% down and the other doesn't, the seller will invariably accept the larger down payment because that buyer is more likely to get financing. This puts low down payment buyers at a clear disadvantage when looking at prime locations.

I have also seen appraisal issues. Pricing by appraisers are experiencing downward pressure. They are deducting value from the comps based on time passed since sale date. So even if you see comparable properties selling in December, a deduction needs to be made from their sale price to get to where an appraiser is going to be. This is critically important for sellers trying to price their property based on comparable sales.

The good news is the number of condo listings is down significantly and the days on market are slightly down.

 

Price Range	Number of	Number of	Number of	Number of	Number of	Number of
	Listings	Listings	Listings	Listings	Listings	Listings
	4/11/2008	7/11/2008	10/11/2008	1/11/2009	3/11/2009	4/11/2009
Under $50,000	1	2	8	4	2	1
$50,000 - $99,999	13	33	32	25	15	22
$100,000 - $149,999	43	42	32	17	23	18
$150,000 - $199,999	83	68	37	25	31	32
$200,000 - $249,999	49	54	47	39	30	29
$250,000 - $299,999	76	54	59	36	29	41
$300,000 - $349,999	46	29	26	20	20	16
$350,000 - $399,999	21	14	14	16	18	14
$400,000 - $449,999	16	9	2	4	3	5
$450,000 - $499,999	2	2	4	-	2	3
$500,000 - $599,999	1	3	4	-	1	3
$600,000 - $699,999	7	2	3	-	2	2
Total Properties	358	312	268	186	176	186
Ave. Days on Market	130	141	128	136	147	121
Lowest Price:	$43,000	$45,000	$39,900	$31,000	$45,000	$49,900
Median Price:	$243,461	$219,461	$239,000	$237,000	$244,950	$249,000
Highest Price:	$699,000	$639,000	$679,000	$439,000	$614,900	$614,900
Average Price:	$250,817	$224,547	$228,750	$224,759	$237,532	$240,419
Total Market Volume:	$89,792,545	$70,058,679	$61,305,265	$41,805,320	$41,805,719	$44,717,944