Sales of preexisting homes dropped 17% in December which is more than anticipated. A large part of this was due to the threat of expiration of the first time home buyer tax credit that was eventually extended to cover deals signed by April 30, 2010. On another note existing home sales actually rose 4.9% for the overall 2009 year which is the first increase in four years. Another positive number is the 1.5% increase in median home sale prices which is the first increase since August of 2007. Here's a more complete article on the report from Business Week. http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-01-25/u-s-economy-existing-home-sales-decline-more-than-forecast.htmlWhile I tend not to take national numbers too seriously because all markets are locally affected and often vary greatly from other areas or segment, this is real good news. It also stands out because we're seeing real world, immediate signs that things are really breaking loose. We've already closed a number of very nice waterfront properties this year and have no less than 10 sales pending and heading toward closing. That's just about unheard of for our very seasonal vacation home market. Many of those sales were buyers who had pretty much identified the property they wanted to purchase during 2009 but were hesitant to move forward. Whether it's the recent change in the political landscape or just people tired of waiting and ready to move forward, sales are off to a terrific start in 2010!
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