It looks like it might be shaping up to be an interesting spring market. Although the trend of rising inventories is still taking hold, a combination of good weather and continued buyer interest at all price ranges, has kept For Sale inventories lower than we had expected which is good news for sellers. What won't [...]
It was a bit surprising to see 2015 end with a flourish of new sales contracts. We think the jump in sales activity was as much a result of mild weather as increasing buyer activity. It would not be surprising to see that November and December sales were "borrowed" from the first quarter of [...]
There was a surprising jump in new purchase contracts written across all price categories over last November, providing some additional optimism going into the winter months. The jump may have been a combination of continued good economic news, the release of remaining pent- up demand, and mild weather. Overall, we are still in a Seller's [...]
There are a number of reliable indicators that show there is still some pent up real estate activity yet to be released going into 2016, including steady economic and employment growth, along with continued low interest rates. The chart below shows that about 23% of homeowners are considering putting their homes on the market. Historically, [...]
We are now through the third quarter of 2015 and the overall housing market continues to move at a steady and positive pace with buyer interest as strong as the fall of 2014. The overall economic news remains good as well, with Michigan leading the Midwest in terms of economic growth. The combination of [...]
The overall market in December continued the trend of sales growth for the second half of 2014, but at a slower rate. December’s new sales contracts picked up in all price ranges after a lull in November. For Sale inventories continue to fall in the under $250,000 category, while rising in all price ranges [...]
The biggest overall trend for 2015 has been the awakening of the listing inventory. Across most all markets and price ranges inventories have risen over 2014. While still low by historical standards, increased inventory is bringing some relief to buyers frustrated by so few choices in the market. So far this year has had [...]
With the first half of 2015 in the books, we have been pleasantly surprised with the results. After three years of a recovering housing market, we had expected the market to slow to a more historically normal pace, instead it has accelerated into the summer. There are some signs that the market is returning [...]
The spring rush is in full bloom with the market looking very much like last spring, only slightly less hectic. All indicators in May show a strong market as prices are up (7%), new contracts written are up (15%), the number of homes for sale is up slightly (2%) and new listings entering the [...]
In April, the market heated up even more than we had expected. With For Sale inventories rising through the winter and into the beginning of 2015, it looked like the market was becoming more balanced. To some degree it has settled compared to last spring, but the buyers are coming out full force as [...]
