for access to spreadsheets please see http://fredanlyan.com
Hello Everyone,
Another wild week!. Monday-economic stimulus package voted down-stock market plummets over 700 points. "Sweetened" version of package finally passes on Friday- Wall Street rallies on anticipation and sells on news. Many people breathe a sigh of relief while others complain our representatives in Congress have sold us out. People don't know what to think and even the "experts" differ in their opinions. Obviously this is not a great position to be in, but my opinion is things would be much worse without the government "bailout". It will take us a while to work our way out of this, but we will. It is to be hoped that better regulations will be instituted to prevent a future replay. Important to remember that the $700 billion will actually buy some assets that will ultimately lead to revenue and even appreciation in some cases, so we are not necessarily pouring all these $ down the proverbial drain.
Short version of the story is that people feel uncertain. Many have re-evaluated their plans. Some wonder if they will have a job after all this is over. A number of stories around the County from agents who had buyers back out of transactions at the last minute---some even forfeiting substantial deposit $. A number of investors think differently and are welcoming this unusual situation as the best buying opportunity since the early 90's. People who buy now will probably do very well over the next 5-7 years. A quick check with local mortgage brokers revealed that money is still available for well qualified buyers however excellent credit, full documention, and substantial deposits are the rule.
Monthly City-by-City report out this week shows only Tiburon, Mill Valley, and Novato increased percentage of listings in contract last month. All other cities and towns figures headed south. Only San Rafael and Novato still in sellers' market territory. San Rafael experiencing a slight drop but hanging in there at 26.5% in contract. Novato actually increased to 33.2% while combined condo and SFR inventory there declined from 415 to 343 units since the previous week.
Inventory actually down across the board. All price ranges of Single Family Homes now in buyers' or strong buyers' market territory with homes under $1million just missing "balanced" market status at 24.9% in contract. Despite this, total YTD homes sold coasted to another increase with 46 units sold in the week vs. 24 in the same week last year. Now at -22% vs. -24% last week on a year-to-year comparison.
Condo sales continue their recent success story, with 34.7% of all condo's in escrow--a slight drop from last week but still a very encouraging number. Condo's still closing the YTD sales gap with 19 units sold during the week vs. only 7 the year before. Now at -15% on a YTD basis vs. last weeks figure of -18% compared to the same time in 2007.
Where do we go from here? More will be revealed.
Until then, best wishes to all,
Fred
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment