Market Watch

 

      We are three quarters of the way through the year, sold units through September are 5% ahead of last year and, the median sale price is up 3.3%. Sales this year have exceeded those in the corresponding month last year in 7 of 9 months. Unfortunately, September was one of those two months. I am confident that there is a valid reason for this decline. I have felt for a long time that contested Presidential elections have a short-term, negative impact on real estate sales. Earlier this month I saw a national survey that confirmed my thoughts. According to this survey, 12% of potential homebuyers would definitely delay purchasing a home until after the election and 13% of potential homebuyers might delay their purchase until after the election. Fortunately closed sales locally were only 7.6% below last September. The good news is that the election is less than a month away and I expect a return to normal activity after that.

 

     Another national trend I have been following is the steady decline in foreclosures and shadow inventory. Shadow inventory includes homes currently in the foreclosure process, homes owned by lenders not yet listed for sale and homes 90 or more days delinquent on their mortgage payments. Although these numbers are impossible to track with exact precision, virtually every group that tracks this information shows a steady decline in these numbers. As these homes continue to be removed from the market it cannot help but have a positive impact on both prices and new construction. 

     As is almost always the case, our Marketing Department is continually making improvements and enhancements to our website, FCTuckerEmge.com. We will soon have a substantially improved interactive map search and will also start providing information on sold properties. Our local Multiple Listing Service requires users to log in before we can provide this sold information. Simply sign up for a MyFCTuckerEmge.com account and you can search sold properties. Or you can always call or email me and I will be happy to get the information for you. Enjoy the beautiful fall weather and next month I will give you some economic information from our annual National Association of Realtors convention, which is always a great source of information. You can reach me on my cell phone at 812-499-9234.