Freezing temperatures and a three-day weekend didn’t keep savvy
buyers away from our 436 open houses held last week. In fact, 16 of
our offices report increased open house activity with comments ranging
from “open house attendance is growing,” to “the best
weekend in months,” and even “attendance continues to rock
at open houses…record crowds.” If these are all buyers who
buy, then “cautiously optimistic” is the buzz-phrase of the
week.
According to DataQuick studies released this week, average sold prices
for December ’06 were up by 3.5% over the previous year. This,
in combination with tightened inventory levels in most areas, means
that now really is the time to buy before prices increase further. The
savvy buyers are recognizing this and are out there looking.
We normally see a flock of new listings this time of year as many sellers
have held their properties off the market during the holidays. As of
the first three weeks of 2007, however, we are not seeing the increase
in inventories. This may play well for sellers as fewer properties available
means prices should hold up well. Still, listing inventory remains fairly
healthy with 11 offices reporting increasing levels, 10 reporting steady
levels and 7 reported as decreasing.
Many potential buyers may still be waiting for lower prices (and warmer
weather) but sales activity is increasing in 6 offices and steady in
17 offices while reported as decreasing in only 5 offices. Multiple
offers are seeing a jump as well with at least 20 being reported - one
of them a serious fixer that received 6 offers.
Rick Turley
President
Coldwell Banker SF/Peninsula
