Weekly Real Estate Snapshot
August 17-August 23, 2009:
New Listings: 40
Price Improvements: 31
Pending: 30 the past week
that breaks down to:
Under $1 Million: 271
$1-2M: 5
$2-4M: 5
$4-8M: 0
$8M+: 0
Closed: 21
Off Market: 14
Back On Market: 7
Then on a positive note, this article from Forbes.com ranks Santa Barbara as one of the top 10 cities for a housing recovery. I edited a bit for size, to view the whole article visit www.forbes.com
Best Cities For A Housing Recovery
Matthew Woolsey, 08.13.09, 4:00 PM ET
The stock market is up 50% from its lows in March, and consumer spending increased in May, June and July. But when will housing turn around?
Even the wisest can't answer that, and experts caution against putting too much hope in rising home prices given the country's unemployment situation and high rate of mortgage defaults. But key measures indicate that some metros are more on their way to recovery than others...
Behind The Numbers
In compiling our list, Forbes looked at 161 of the country's largest metropolitan statistical areas (or metros)--geographic entities defined by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for use by federal agencies in collecting, tabulating and publishing federal statistics--where sales activity had picked up over the last year, but where foreclosure sales, as a percentage of overall sales were the lowest. Our data came from Zillow.com, an online housing data firm based in Seattle, Wash. Our list doesn't profess to call the turnaround, but rather point out which cities are in the lead on the road to recovery...
The Rankings
10. San Jose, Calif.
9. Santa Barbara, Calif.
8. Redding, Calif.
7. Denver, Colo.
6. Bremerton, Wash.
5. San Luis Obispo, Calif.
4. Salem, Ore.
3. Colorado Springs, Colo.
2. Lincoln, Neb.
1. Miami-Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.
Because housing, like any asset, depends on supply and demand, the sales rate is an incredibly useful statistic in judging a recovery. However, an increased number of sales does not necessarily mean an imminent recovery.
