Home sales during May tapered off following a surge of activity in April as buyers hurried to meet deadlines for tax credits. The MLS reported a decline of pending sales of more than 44 percent from April. Year over year though throughout the 21 counties serving the NWMLS 2010 sales are up 23%. New homes coming on the market also lagged in May, down nearly 17% from year ago totals but at month end, the area-wide inventory was about the same total as a year ago. Inventories should continue to inch up as sellers become more confident that if their home is priced right and well positioned they will find a buyer in this market.
The extremely low interest rates are expected to last through the summer into the fall which should help to continue to drive the market. Prices for home sales that closed last month declined about 3.6 % compared to a year ago, but increased 3.4 percent from April. I myself have witnessed this recent activity (the last couple of weeks) and have both received multiple offers on some my properties as well as been in multiple offer situations representing buyers. It appears we have another window of activity to take advantage of for what is really a good balanced market with better affordability.
Please free to contact me regarding your specific situation.
