Market Watch
January 2012 closed volume was the best January our market had seen in four years. Closed sales in January 2009 through 2012 have been; 197, 198, 220 and 241. Although January is typically the slowest month of the year for real estate closings this 9.5% increase in 2012 following the 11.1% increase in 2011 suggests that our market is showing steady improvement. Our local figures mirror the nation which also had a bump in January volume.
Although resale home sales are off to a good start new home construction is still slow. Just a little over 300,000 new homes were built nationwide last year. Prior to the financial crisis new home construction had not been less than 1 million units for 15 consecutive years. This slowdown will also improve. The short explanation is that there is too much supply and too little demand. There are currently about 1 ¾ million vacant homes in the U.S. Until the number of vacant homes declines there is not enough demand to warrant significant new home construction. A normal number would be in the 1 ¼ million range. The good news is that the number of vacant homes continues to decline. I believe we are 12-18 months from getting back to normal levels. In the meantime I expect continued but gradual improvement the real estate market.
Recently our MLS (multiple listing service) became a BLC (broker listing cooperative). The reason for this change is that national aggregators of real estate information have, in many cases, hijacked the term MLS. REALTOR organizations did not trademark the term decades ago and it is now too late. By switching to a BLC we will be better able to assure the public that our information is both complete and accurate. Many national companies advertise and solicit leads through their websites. They offer valuation data and show homes for sale. Unfortunately their data is almost always incomplete and frequently inaccurate. The best way to get accurate, complete real estate information is to contact me or go to FCTuckerEmge.com or TuckerMobile.com I can help you with any real estate information you need and you can be sure the information is complete and accurate.
You can reach me by phone at 812-499-9234 or by email at Rolando@RolandoTrentini.com
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