November is turning out to be a very interesting month, we have certainly been blessed with some outstanding weather in Lake Geneva the last couple of weeks and especially this last weekend. Although it did not seem to appreciably increase the amount of showings and activity on my listings, and most of the other agents I know, it surely makes it more conducive for prospective Buyers to still be thinking about looking at real estate. I have remarked many times this year that I think 2009 will be remembered as a year that did not follow many of the “normal” trends and tendencies we would normally expect to see in our real estate market, including the summer that never happened and post Labor Day three weeks of summerlike temperatures. Uncertainty over nationwide economic conditions, the whole healthcare debate and its effect on deficits and possible increased tax consequences have been front page issues on the minds of many. Without a doubt, many of these circumstances have put a damper on peoples spending habits and their opinion of the future.
On a more positive note, the slow but steady rise of the stock market remains a bright spot and I tend to want to buy into and believe those prognosticators who are predicting that the real estate market has bottomed out and that we are headed in the right direction for rebound in the coming months.
I saw an article in USA Today yesterday that indicated home sales nationwide were up for October over 10% for the second month in a row and just read about a speech made last week by the Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke where he used the words “Housing in the coming year is going to be a relative bright spot - a helpful driver of national economic growth, rather than the wet blanket it's been for the past couple of years”. I have included links below to both articles.
We would “normally” expect the next month or so to be relatively quiet with many prospective Buyers attention being diverted because of the Holidays.
I hope you and your family have a wonderful Thanksgiving and for enjoying family and friends.
Usatoday.com Existing Home Sales October 2009
Realtytimes.com Real Estate Outlook