For the first time in a long while, the data on home sales here in Brentwood is trending upward steadily. For months, the most common question I have heard from buyers and sellers alike is, “Have we hit bottom yet, and how will I know?
In an ongoing dialogue with my clients, I have stressed that it’s just about impossible to “time the bounce”, that moment when the market hits bottom and begins its rebound. One can onle see, in hindsight, that the bounce has occurred, because the statistics bear it out. The first quarter Brentwood Home Sales statistics show a marked increase over 4th quarter “08 sales, as the fourth quarter showed an increase over quarter 3 of ’08. That’s two solid quarters of median price increase, in the slowest selling time Brentwood has experienced in over 5 years. In part, this market slowness is due to pent up demand (prices low, interest rates low creating the perfect storm of demand) and a lack of good and well priced inventory. This accounts for the lower number of sales, bolstered by the lack of jumbo mortgage money available. But that demand is fueling an increase in median prices, and so we have a turnaround.
Will it hold? I don’t know; my crystal ball is in the shop! Last week I had multiple offers on a $2 million dollar home, which sold over asking with 4 backup offers. Limited supply, pent up demand. I can’t wait to see what the second quarter numbers show us.
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