At this point, it feels like news from the housing industry has been mired in gloom and doom for a very long time — but take heart! Here in the Raleigh/Wake County area, at least some indicators are moving in the other direction. Would you believe —
Foreclosures are down! Distressed properties accounted for 20% of sales nationally, down from 32% a year ago. In the Triangle, foreclosures and short slaes account for less than 10% of total sales. In markets such as Florida and California, the percentage is close to 75%.
Sales are up! Closed sales in July 2011 were 11% higher than sales in July 2010.
Showings are up! Centralized Showing Service reported 29,824 showings in July 2010, vs. 31.214 in July 2011. There are parts of the country that would kill for those numbers!
Inventory is down! In July 2010, there were 9,165 active listings in the MLS, equal to a 10-month supply. This July we had 7,937 listings, which computes to an 8-month supply.
New construction is back! Both the median sales price and the median sales price per square foot of new homes have increased compared to the same 90 day period last year.
It’s not 2005 — but it is a welcome ray of sunshine!
ADVENTURES IN REAL ESTATE 
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