These days, no news seems like the best news when it comes to the real estate market. And no news is just what we got last week when the June median home price for Marin County came in virtually unchanged from 2009. In an odd sort of way, this jibes with what we've been experiencing on the street. Sellers have been saying, "It sure seems like prices have gone up this year." (Hopeful thinking.) While buyers keep telling us, "I think the market is still going down." (More hopeful thinking.) It would appear that, as usual, the truth lies somewhere in the middle.
If you're looking for the glass-half-full take on the data, it's this...The number of units sold was up over 6% while the median price stayed nearly flat. Why is this news? Because until recently, the only thing that drove unit sales was falling prices. An upturn in activity without a corresponding decline in values is, in our opinion, an indicator of a market that's finding it's footing. And that's probably good news for everyone.
If you're looking for the glass-half-full take on the data, it's this...The number of units sold was up over 6% while the median price stayed nearly flat. Why is this news? Because until recently, the only thing that drove unit sales was falling prices. An upturn in activity without a corresponding decline in values is, in our opinion, an indicator of a market that's finding it's footing. And that's probably good news for everyone.
