May 2009 Market Update

Believe it or not, there are sub-markets within Livingston County where we are seeing multiple offers. Our company has witnessed this on waterfront properties and homes priced under $150,000. I know this is a pretty small group of homes, but it’s a start.

Everyone is looking for some sign of good news for home values. This could be that sign.

Overall, the activity level has been good. This past week, Buckley Jolley had three closings and the week before, we had four. We also just negotiated two listing sales and 2 buyer sales this past week. So, we are pleased with the increase in buyer traffic. Here is a snapshot of the most recent sale statistics for the county:

There was a bit more good news not shown in the table above. In March ’09, there were 97 foreclosure sales out of 164 total sales (59%). In April ’09, there were 122 foreclosure sales out of 189 total sales (64%). In May ’09, there were 112 foreclosure sales out of 193 total sales (58%). The percentage of foreclosure sales of total sales was down for the first time in more than a year. We will be watching this closely and hoping the trend will continue.

We need to balance the aforementioned favorable news with the following disclaimer: The majority of homes & condos are still depreciating. If the trends continue, it looks like values are not dipping as quickly as they did over the past year.