According to the S&P/Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price survey , U.S. Home Prices rose for sixth straight month.
U.S. Home Prices Rise for Sixth Straight Month
7 comments • Steve Eckhardt, Tampa & Sarasota Luxury Broker • January 26 2010 03:59PMMajor Media Outlets Report Sales Are Down When They Are Actually UP
Most of the major news outlets are busy selling the negative part of the most recent National Association Of Realtors figures that report December Sales fell by 17 percent. Every radio report has cried out the same message, "SALES DOWN 17%". If you dig further into the numbers, you will find that sales dropped 17% in December compared to November, but are actually up 15% compared to December 2008.
In fact, for all of 2009 there were 5,156,000 existing-home sales, which was 4.9 percent higher than the 4,913,000 transactions recorded in 2008; it was the first annual sales gain since 2005. And, the median sales price was $178,300, up 1.5 percent from a year earlier. It was the first yearly gain since August 2007. In addition, total housing inventory at the end of December FELL 6.6 percent to 3.29 million existing homes available for sale.
I'm not suggesting that we ignore the negative news, but when the bulk of the news on home sales was positive, why make the whole story about a month to month decrease? 2010 home sales will face challenges with foreclosures, unemployment, and the general economy. The fact that we've experienced a month to month decline means far less to me than the reduction in inventory and the increase of the median price. Too bad the media doesn't agree.
Steve Eckhardt, Broker, Luxury Real Estate Professional
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7 comments • Steve Eckhardt, Tampa & Sarasota Luxury Broker • January 25 2010 11:29AMForeign investors in real estate say they remain committed to the U.S. as their preferred real estate investment opportunity
According to the results of the 18th annual Association of Foreign Investors in Real Estate (AFIRE) survey, foreign investors in real estate say they remain committed to the U.S. as their preferred real estate investment opportunity. Fifty-one percent of respondents identify the U.S. as providing the best opportunity for capital appreciation.
The survey was conducted in the fourth quarter of 2009 among the association's nearly 200 members. Survey respondents own more than $842 billion of real estate globally including $304 billion in the U.S. The survey was conducted by the James A. Graaskamp Center for Real Estate, Wisconsin School of Business.
Read survey results available at the Florida Association Of Realtors
Steve Eckhardt, Broker, Luxury Real Estate Professional
Contact me at (813) 765-1182
Check Out Steve Eckhardt's Other Social Networking Profiles
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0 comments • Steve Eckhardt, Tampa & Sarasota Luxury Broker • January 19 2010 01:24PMContent © 2009 'Frequent Contributors'. Design © 2009 ActiveRain Corp.
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