Wednesday, May 6, 2009

May Market Update: Good News!

Below I've attached a quick Market Update courtesy of the Seattle Times. I welcome you to take a moment to read it as the April sales stats for our area have surged and this bodes well for all of us.

Pending sales were up 25% in King County, and 28% in Snohomish County. I mentioned in my last CK Light mailer that I was witnessing a market shift on a daily basis on our NWMLS site, and these stats clearly illustrate what I was seeing was real.

With affordability at an all-time high, interest rates at an all-time historical low, an $8,000 tax credit for First-Time Buyers, and an improving flow of credit for borrowers, these numbers are no fluke. Due to the normal ebb and flow of living, (marriages, divorces, health issues, empty nesters, job relocations, etc...), there has been a pent up demand for real estate for months, and at some point momentum was due to follow.

The Great Recission we've been experiencing led us to become the "Land of Do Nothing", and that wasn't going to last forever. As local sales numbers continue to improve, our area will have a better chance of seeing price stabilization soon after. We still have a large number of foreclosures and short sales that are dragging values down with them, but as we continue to clear those out of the system, things will continue to improve.


In other equally important news, this Friday the Labor Department will release its monthly job report. February and March unemployment numbers were both less than January's, and we hope April's stats continue that trend. In past recessions, a slow down in the rate of job losses has been a telling sign, as typically within a few months the economy began growing again.

*Important Stat: The Economic Cycle Research Institute data shows that in every previous downturn in the last 75 years, the economy has started to grow no more than 4 months after its pace of deterioration has slowed. Due to this information, they're forecasting this Great Recission will most likely be over by Labor Day.

We're not out of the woods yet, but it feels good to share some positive trends after a dark and challenging winter. Real estate is improving, the stock market is up 30% from its 2009 low earlier this year, summer's around the corner, the Mariners are in first place, and my girl Melissa returned from her rib injury to score a perfect 30 on Dancing With the Stars. Life is good. :)

To view the Seattle Times article I referenced above, Click Here