2009 Q3 Real Estate Trends
Real Estate Trends Update
published October 25, 2009
September Existing Home Sales - The three year downtrend in existing home sales appears to have bottomed in the March of 2009 with a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 4.5 million units. Since then, the first time buyer tax credit has boosted sales to the 5.5 million unit rate in September 2009. Home sales were 9% higher in September than a year ago, with strong improvement in the Northeast and South census regions.
September Housing Inventory - Measured in terms of months of inventory on the market at the current sales pace, the inventory of housing units for sale has been largely sopped up in recent months with the enactment of the first time home buyer tax credit. There was a nearly normal 7.8 months of inventory in September, down 16% from August.
There remains a glut of condos - More than 11 months of Condo and Co-op inventory were on the market in September 2009. While this was a substantial 24% drop from the month ago level, it still compares to 7.6 months of inventory for single family homes. This is despite relatively strong sales for these often entry-level units that were up 21 percent in September vs. a year ago, whereas sales of Single Family units are only 8 percent ahead of a year ago. This suggest that the first time buyer tax credit is rapidly absorbing this Condo oversupply.
September Home Sale Prices - in September were 8.5 percent lower than a year ago. The Midwest has held up best, with a virtually flat 1% decline. Price declines have been most severe in the West, where September home median sales prices were 15 percent lower than a year ago.
Tags: Home Sale Prices, Housing Inventory, Real Estate Trends
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