By It might be a little early to start cheering, but we are seeing some signs of recovery in the real estate market.
Yes, even in California!
Though home prices have fallen to levels not seen since 2003, there is news that might have us exercising cautious optimism about improvements in the real estate market. The S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index Survey was released on August 25th, and we’re encouraged by their report.
Nationally home prices, while still down almost 15% from the second quarter last year, rose almost 3% from the first quarter of this year. That’s good news. One of the biggest reasons for a positive outlook is that this marks the first time in three years that there has been a quarter-over-quarter increase.
Since this Spring, market activity has been markedly higher, and we expect that trend to continue into the Fall.
What does this mean for consumers? Well, recently, fewer homes on the market have had price reductions than compared to Spring this year, which is typically the busiest time of the year for real estate sales. This is good news for sellers, as it means that their end point, while not at the level it might’ve been three years ago, is likely not going to keep declining.
Only time will tell.
The next couple of months will be critical in determining if we’re on a true upswing. Generally, the market sees a nice burst of activity in the early Fall, prior to the Holiday Season, and December 1 marks the end of eligibility for the Homebuyer Tax Credit. Those events will likely have a surge of buyers flowing into the market.
Only time will tell. But from where we sit, we hope that time will have good things to say.
