Click on THIS LINK to January 2010 Sales Data for Sonoma County,California–Median Up–Sales WAY DOWN compared to last year! REO’s? Off 50% over last year! Now I know it’s supposed to be kinda DEAD this time of the year but we thought with the 1st Timer Home Credit program plus the new “Move-up” program we’d see a bit MORE sales but 299 is really pathetic! Last year? 391–this year? 299! Ouch!
But the BIG number is the amount of REO’s (real estate owned–or foreclosed bank owned houses) is down a whopping 57% over last year at this time. What has been driving our market around these parts in Sonoma County has been the foreclosed upon properties. I might try to figure out how to analyze the amount of “flipped” houses in the marketplace to see if these REO’s are being “headed off at the pass” by investor/builders buying at the courtsteps through the foreclosure process and then putting them onto the market after a fix up. Interesting.
The “Normal” market–those sales sans the REO or Short-Sale handles are also UP BIG TIME–30% over last year. This is beginning to be a nice healthy trend. I think many folks are just tired of waiting for this market to “make up its mind” and see it bottoming but also dont’ see it improving or inflating their deflated price. So let’s move on regardless. Families get bigger, folks still are wanting to downsize, retire,buy a new home, folks have passed-on, etc. The whole pent-up market may just decide this year to “get on with it!”. We shall see.
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