As far as I’m concerned the jury is still out on the housing market but I’m not going to ignore some signs that things may be turning around.
The preponderance of foreclosures in the existing sales numbers has led a lot of analysts to suggest that bargain hunters and investors are driving the market and once the inventory clears out the sales numbers will fall off. If you look at the non-distressed component of existing sales there’s reason to believe that but it’s only a thesis and won’t be validated until the foreclosure inventory tails off. That doesn’t appear as if it’s going to happen anytime soon.
So, until this morning I was in the wait and see camp. Jim the Realtor’s report (via Calculated Risk) on a new home subdivision in San Diego tells me that there may be more going on than people suspect. He paints a picture straight out of if not the boom years than certainly from a more healthy market. Take a look:
Interesting isn’t it. By the way, if you haven’t been following this guy you might want to think about doing so. He’s becoming something of a cult figure.