Good News & Bad News

The Bad News… Case-Shiller's* September housing report came out worse than expected, confirming to any doubters that the housing double dip is here.

National home prices dropped 1.5% in September. The new data will worsen Case-Shiller's already bearish outlook for the housing market. Earlier this month, it forecast a 7.1 percent drop in prices from Q2 '10 to Q2 '11, with price stagnation through Q2 '12.

This is a brutal forecast, which would have wide economic consequences. Five years after the housing peak, markets in Florida, Nevada and California would remain down around 60 percent.


The Good News… TREND’s MLS coverage area shows that Average Home Sale Prices increased 6.1% when comparing October 2010 to October 2009, prices increased in eight counties with the highest increases in:

Chester County – 22.2%    Delaware County – 19.1%

The Bad News… TREND indicated that the Actual Homes Sold decreased when comparing October 2010 to October 2009 as follows:

Chester County – 35.6%    Delaware County – 44.5%

The Good News… TREND shows that the Median Home Price increased in our area as follows:

Chester County – 10.7%    Delaware County – 10%

The Bad News… TREND also shows Pending Home Sales dropped by 33% overall when comparing October 2010 to October 2009. Sales were 3,900 in October 2010 and 5,867 in October 2009. The decreases in our area were:

Chester County – 22.3% Delaware County – 39%

THE GOOD NEWS… If you have the desire, motivation, the want or need to sell, we can help you to stay ahead of the curve. This market is not at the bottom, but we shouldn’t wait until the “spring market” as some figures will continue to decline. Call me to discuss what we can do to sell your property for the most money TODAY!

*The S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indicates measures the residential housing market, tracking changes in the value of the residential real estate market in 20 metropolitan regions across the United States.