Home Sales Pick Up

As news outlets continue to signal more and more woes for real estate and the economy, it’s always refreshing to hear about positive gains every now and then, even if they are few and far between.  Given the tough state of the U.S. economy and the lack of home buying, it’s expected that many people’s opinions about South Florida homes and real estate in general would be largely negative but realistically speaking, there isn’t a need to think the market is going to implode either.

The past year has seen home sales drop to record lows in many areas.  It’s worth noting however that the worst has already occurred and as many had suspected, marginal increases would begin to show up on the horizon and that’s pretty much what has happened.  The month of April showed another boost in home sales which, while not necessarily dramatic, does lend more credibility to a slow market recovery.

Real estate property values also increased somewhat in spite of yet another drop in actual home prices.  True, prices are still unusually low if we evaluate them alongside the incredible prices they were demanding just a few years ago when the real estate market was flourishing but a rise in property values is still a strong indicator of market stabilization.  Once values reach higher digits, real estate buying and investing will make sense once again.

These small increases go a tremendously long way in reinforcing that while the market climate is “murky”, there is indeed a demand for housing.  Considering that prices in many areas in the country (South Florida homes included) have made high end real estate significantly more affordable, investing should steadily pick up which will drive up home sales subsequently boosting property values and thus thrusting the market back into much better shape.