Existing home sales gained 2.9% in February to an annual pace of 5.03 million units. The increase in home sales last month breaks a six month string of declines. Regionally, sales rose 11.3% in the Northeast, 2.5% in the Midwest, 2.1% in the South but fell 1.1% in the West. Inventory levels shrank under the improved sales pace. The inventory of homes on the market for sale fell 3.0% to 4.034 million which represents a 9.6 month supply at the current sales pace compared to a 10.2 month supply in January. Recent statistics for Camden County showed only 3.5 months of inventory for new construction reflecting a new construction inventory that is considered "healthy."
Price declines over the past year are still steep in some areas of the country but are in part responsible for the increased sales pace last month. The median home price was $195,900 in February, down 8.2% from $213,500 in February one year ago. While the increase in sales last month is encouraging, economists at NAR are not expecting significant recovery until the second half of this year, when higher loan limits, along with monetary and fiscal stimulus will unleash pent-up demand.
Personnally I am not sure how much I agree with the "experts." We have seen very significant activity in our Kingsland and St. Marys real estate markets. I think home buyers are continually increasing thier knowledge and education on the home buying process as well as the nuances of the real estate markets. The media can push negative news but due to internet resources as a means to "become informed" buyers are thinking for themselves. Many buyers recognize that the time to buy is while there are deals to be had.
Regardless of whether the real estate market has already begun to recover or it starts to recover this fall, real estate has historically been a great investment. You can not pay rent for three years and get anything back when you move. When you own your home you can sell when you move, have the pride of owneship while you are there, and capture the tax benefits of home ownership.
To put my money where my mouth is...when the market was on fire three years ago I did not buy a single property. In contrast, while the market has been cooler over the past year Susan (my wife) and I have purchased three homes and one commercial property.
To view homes for sale in the Kingsland and St. Marys area visit the area Home Buyer's Specialist at http://www.KingslandGAHomesForSale.com. This site is a new buyer information and education tool and it is about 85% complete. Feel free to review it and provide any input or improvements you think should be implemented as we complete it.