Summer Season Summary

Well...it was UGLY....

As expected there was too much inventory chasing too few Buyers, a couple of Builders facing defaults from their Lenders, the mortgage melt-down GREATLY reduced the available mortgage products and finally Jumbo Mortgage Rates spiked in early August making loans over $417,000 much more expensive than they had been previously.

So...what was the outcome? Only a fraction of those who wanted to sell this Summer did...and those that were lucky enough to get a Buyer had to reduce asking price and increase incentives. I won't boar you with the numbers, but there are STILL 249 homes at $450,000 or higher still listed for sale in Happy Valley (not including FSBO). The Summer selling season going back four full months only saw 58 homes transact above $450,000.

As I drilled down into the numbers it was apparent that actual sales prices were at or below 2005 prices...and with such a huge supply of homes still on the market, prices are continuing to decline.

I saw multiple homes in Eagle Landing and Kensington Heights sell for LESS than they originally did two years ago.

What do I see for the Fall/Winter Season? The next six months will be far WORSE than the Summer. Still way too much inventory, hundreds of ARM's resetting and the rate of defaults in our area is escalating. Buyers are becoming very demanding and no one is willing to pay anywhere close to full price. Hold on for a long ride down...