So the January numbers are in from the MLS. Below are some of the key stats comparing Jan 2009 to Jan 2008 numbers as well as Jan 2009 versus previous month.
January year-over-year (Jan 2009 compared to Jan 2008)
- Encouraging News
- 9.4% less inventory than last year (in order to have a functioning, balanced market — we'd want to see less inventory since there are fewer active buyers)
- Median closed transaction price up 9.8%. The increase in median price is largely contributed by higher-end condo sales in Belltown/Downtown.
- Sobering News
- Volume of pending sales down 20.2%
- Volume of closed sales down 25.5%
January 2009 versus previous month
- Encouraging News
- 22% more pending sales
- 21% more closed sales
- Sobering News
- December 2008 was pretty ugly so improving on them was not too hard
As interesting as some of these stats are, my current view is the state of the overarching national economy (e.g., federal stimulus plan, banking rescue, housing rescue) will ultimately drive what's going on over here.
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