If you have been waiting for a clear signal that the real estate market is recovering than look no further, home sales were up +9% in the West and +7% in the south. In most major markets including Tampa Bay we have see a large jump in home sales in the 1st qtr of 2010 over the 1st qtr of 2009
Builders are also starting to feel inventory move and new housing starts were up 1.6% for March 2010. This references the number of permits pulled to build new homes. These homes will be available in 6 months.
Consumer confidence was up by 6 point over just last month, inventory levels are down to the point where we have a 6 month supply of single family homes in Pinellas County, we have not see this level of inventory since 2006. This is just where we need to be, not a buyers market not a sellers market. From this point we should start to see more communities/neighborhoods showing price increases. However, there are still a huge number of foreclosure and short sale listings on the market which could slow this down.
Banks are getting faster at approving short sales so don’t shy away from them.
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