A Look Back at 2011 Real Estate Trends!

“Those who say it cannot be done should not interrupt the person doing it.” Chinese Proverb

I thought I would start 2012 by sharing my favorite quote and an optimistic attitude that we will continue to see stabilization and improvement in the real estate market. The main reason I predict continued improvement is the tightening of inventory.

The numbers are drastic enough to tell the story. At the end of 2010 there were 14,510 active properties for sale compared to 9,902 properties available at the end of 2011. That is a 32% decline in inventory. The “months supply of inventory” dropped from 10.6 months supply at the end of 2010 to 6.7 months supply at the end of 2011. A 5 to 6 months supply indicates a balanced market. The inventory declined the most (45%) in the under $150,000 price range but declined by 41% in the $500,000 to $999,999 price range.

A more practical example of the decline in inventory is how often my agents tell me stories about a customer liking a home and calling back a few days later to move forward with a purchase only to find out the home is under contract. Read more