Out on a Limb

I am looking for September to show better numbers than our August as buyers look to take advantage of the values in our marketplace. The first-time buyers market should see an increase in activity as buyers get off the fence to catch the first-time buyers credit of up to $8000 that is set to expire on December 1st. This is a wonderful program and we are hoping that it gets extended but there is no talk of that at this point. Investors also continue to drive our market and rightly so as this is one of the few times in my career that there are good choices and options available for positive cash flows. The higher end of the market place will not see that much of an increase if they see any at all for a number of reasons. First, relocation buyers are much more active in spring and to a lesser extent summer as they look to get in before school starts. They will be few and far between in the fall market. Second the move up market has been virtually non-existent this year. Even at the current foreclosure levels sellers looking to move up have a hard time competing with bank owned properties. Lastly, this is typically the time of the season that the "have to sells" drop their prices to rock bottom so that they can hopefully get sold before the last quarter of the year. Those that "want to sell" or even "need to sell" just cannot compete price wise with those that absolutely "have to sell" their home. At the end of the day I see the market in the next 30-50 days staying strong for homes priced fairly in the under $500,000 range and I look to see activity over that range stay the same at best. We will closely monitor the foreclosure activity and keep you informed as usual.