rickjones posted on December 06, 2011 08:33
While the trends for most of 2011 have been good, November turned out to be quite a clunker. Sales measured vs. 2010 were down substantially by all measures, while inventory remained near record levels. Those looking for signs that the bottom of the market had been reached can not be pleased with the results. Buyers should be delighted.
There were just 14 single family homes sold in the month, and the medial sale price dropped to below 30% from the peak year of 2006. When you take out a sale of one property of over $6M, the average sale price was lower that the 2003 level.
Homes pending sale tell a better picture, with a number of closings scheduled for the next sixty days, so the dip should be temporary. It is important to note that for the last two years, the trend has been quite positive.
Sales of condo units continue to flounder, as it is more difficult to find financing for this type of ownership. The same is true for multi-family places and straight investment purchases.